Point of Two
by Ms. Tea Cup
Summary: One wouldn't expect either Kaiba or the older Mutou to act like a lovesick puppy. But both kind of do, to one another. The people who surround and adore them are keenly observing. Prideshipping.
1. Kaiba's Order

NOTES

1\. As this is a semi AU, the story will not 100% follow the original manga or anime, however it will still hold hold vague references.

2\. This story is a semi drabble. I wrote this for pure entertainment purposes so do not expect clear structure or a solid plot. Each chapter is from the same universe, however the manner of its delivery would most likely be non-linear (not abiding to a straight timeline or flow). This story will also involve the play of different perspectives and pov, so do not expect a clear guidelines of what is going on.

3\. A reminder, the author is not a native English speaker. However, I am open to inputs and critics to my mistakes. Still, be mindful that errors and strange uses of words might happen, a lot.

4\. Enjoy!

* * *

KAIBA'S ORDER

* * *

When Seto asked Yami out, he actually kissed the latter before shooting the question – in fact, it was more of an order than an endearing request. "Let's date," he uttered simply and hovered just a breath away from Yami's lips. Their eyes connected, in which Yami seek behind Kaiba's stare for explanations and Kaiba tries to remember every details of those intelligent orbs.

"Date?" Yami responded finally with croaked voice as though only just finding his voice after being pecked out of the blue. They were sitting at the school's rooftop; a habbit they shared out of coincidence. It was a coincidence at first, at least – back when Kaiba thought the place he used to steal a smoke at school was his alone and when Yami thought he's the only one who'd go to the rooftop to be alone.

After a while, it became weird to be at the rooftop without the other and thus the last 15 minutes of lunch break became their secret rendezvous. Not surprisingly, they enjoyed each other's company without the Yuugi-tachi around. Both enjoys the challenge and the companionship the other provides.

Two months into the start of their constant meet up - Kaiba decided he wants Yami for himself– and he knew Yami should want him in return. He could see the gravitation in Yami's eyes; the attraction that didn't fail to present itself everytime Kaiba was around.

Kaiba grasped the other's chin and kissed Yami for the second time. There was no resistance given, which made Kaiba's heart soar with gloatful pride, before the inevitable collision.

This was meant to be, Kaiba thought; it took him a while to recognize his own feeling toward the shorter male, but deep down Kaiba had always known. He gave the other guy a more heated kiss this time; all the while keeping it slow and sensuous. Yami let him; because surely he'd know not to deny what was sure to come.

Yami let out a soft noise before Kaiba let him go with a smacking sound. When Kaiba laid his eyes on the other, Yami was slightly leaning toward him as they sat shoulder to shoulder, eyes half-lidded as though the kiss hypnotizes him.

"You're my lover now," Kaiba announced softly as he smirked down to Yami; keeping their faces close still and his fingers under Yami's chin. There was a slight rebellion under Yami's gaze from having Kaiba deciding for him. While Kaiba adores the many moments Yami challenged him with that look, he was sorry to say that look has no place here and now. They both knew this was coming. It was futile to resist.

As if having the same thought, Yami closed his eyes and leaned closer to Kaiba. He was half-turned toward Kaiba till his chest touched the arm Kaiba uses to prop himself to the ground. "You tasted like cigarette," Yami murmured.

"And you like it," Kaiba said pompously before dipping for another kiss. This time, they admitted to theirselves that they were glad; in Yami's case, that Kaiba had asked, and in Kaiba's case, that Yami smoothly agreed. Gone were the confident and mature masks; right then they were a couple of fools under the influence of puppy love.

When they returned to class, no words were exchanged between them as usual. No one suspected a thing. Kaiba barely finished half of his cancer stick that day (though he would have finished at least a cigarette if it was another day) and Yami had yet to make a ramble about life that was worth a 10 page essay (he usually speaks poetically the time he stepped on the rooftop). The only one who would notice a thing would be Yugi, who caught Yami writing a love poem in his room.

"Yami's writing love poems," Yugi told Tea when the girl called him that night.

"… Yami? Poems?" She sounded surprised that someone with such a bad boy persona could do poetry, "Huh, who would've thought".

"No, that's not the surprise. Yami has always been… cheesy, you know?" The whole house knew the other boy has a very sentimental soul. He even admitted to hearing a soar of Disney songs when he won a major duel tournament last year. "But now it's love poems, get it?"

"Huh..."

"Usually he writes about life and death and…"

"Oh my Gosh…"

* * *

 **TBC.**


	2. Yugi's Insight

NOTES

1\. This chapter takes place before the Kaiba asked Yami out

* * *

YUGI'S INSIGHT

* * *

Yugi isn't Yami's little brother for just the looks (or, specifically, the hair). They may not have the same personality, but their problem solving skills are almost on par. The only reason Yugi has yet to make a name of himself in official duels was because he had yet to reach the minimum age of participation. The younger also does not believe in winning as an absolute goal. He believes in something beyond victory; that a game serves other purposes beside winning. Joey once said he could see Yugi deliberately losing a game if it could help someone's life. Yugi had yet to refute that point.

Yami, of course, has the same sentiment about victory as his brother – or at least he does when he's not dueling. Yami is the more ambitious one of the two. He is goal-oriented and more pragmatic. When he's dueling, he'd be far too fueled to seek anything else but overcoming the challenge, and thus, winning. While this made Yami the renowned duelist he is now, this also made Yami ignorant and thickheaded at times, in Yugi's opinion.

Yami was straight-sighted. When he has his eyes on something, he'll focus on that goal to the point he blurs everything else. It didn't mean he couldn't notice them, he just opted to ignore them. There's nothing but the cards in his mind – which was probably the sole reason for the lack of romance in his life.

Even someone like Yugi; meek and introverted Yugi; scored someone like Tea. And she was the one who confessed first.

So Yugi knew that time Yami smiled to his phone and started tapping on it furiously. "What's up?" Yugi asked from the kitchen island, where he and Tea currently enoyed a cup of hot chocolate.

"I'm skipping the movie night," Yami announced, eyes still latched to his phone, "Kaiba asked to meet up".

"Really?" Yugi sent Tea a meaningful look. The cheerleader rolled her eyes. They've planned this movie night for a week, and Yami was going to cancel that because Kaiba asked to meet at the last minute.

"You sure you're going? It's raining hard outside," Yugi reminded.

Yami was gulping his chocolate hurriedly. "He's sending me a ride there – wait, is he though? Let me ask him again," the guy said hurriedly as he walked to the sink and put his cup there. "He is - let me change my shirt," he said finally before going to his room.

Yugi and Tea shared another knowing look.

It has been going on for two weeks; Kaiba asking to meet Yami at random times that is. The great heir of the prestigious Kaiba family had finally noticed Yami at school after Yami defeat him in an official tournament last month. Before that, he barely found any value in the small town he just transferred to. The heir was unhappily transferred from Tokyo to Domino for an unknown reason – Yugi suspected he was sent to prepare a branch of Kaiba Corps.

Yugi wasn't surprised that the two got along. He knows Yami, Yami prefers a bit of challenge. Kaiba provides that challenge. Of course, the relationship consist of pushing each other's buttons everytime. But Yugi _knew_ these meetups were more than what it seems. Because Yugi, unlike Yami, sees these things.

Because it was weird for Yami to skip a planned meeting for a last minute call to an appointment, it was also weird for the supposed ice block that is Kaiba, to send his personal chauffeur to pick up someone, get a meal prepared for two, on a Saturday night. All those, simply for a duel.

At least, Yami was the one who insisted the invitations was merely for a duel. Because he is Yami; he has his eyes set on the game; even though the smile he has on his face everytime Kaiba texted him said otherwise.

"He knew," Tea shrugged as she sipped her drink, "Yami, I mean. He knows what's going on, I think. Deep down at least. But he refuses to admit it".

Yugi made a face. Of course Yami _knew;_ the guy was very sharp after all. He opted to ignore the cues for something else he's more accustomed to. Kaiba, however, seemed to have a better grasp of the situation; but being the no-bullshit guy he was, he'd most likely drop the bomb out of the blue toward Yami.

"I blame his lack of love life on you," Tea said. Yugi blanched, "Hey! Where am I in all this?"

"He's too focused on you when he doesn't have his head on the cards. He has a case of brother complex, your brother," she noted. Yuugi grimaced in agreement. Then she put her cup down, propped her chin on her fist and leaned forward to Yugi as she gazed at him dreamily, "Thankfully you're not as dim-witted".

A chummy smile grew on Yugi's face. They were having a moment, as weird as it was to imagine Yugi with a cheerleader girlfriend. The moment could be something else now that they were left alone in the kitchen. Too bad Joey and Tristan made their entrance at that exact moment; their loud voice instantly killed whatever mood was present previously.

"Whew, dat back there 's crazy I'm tellin' ya!" Joey exclaimed. He was drenched from hair to toe, but not as drenched as he should be if he really was biking under this heavy rain. Yugi's brows met.

"Did you really bike all the way here?"

Tristan, who was in the middle of squeezing his jacket to the sink, turned with a amile, "No, you see –"

"Hello!"

The cheerful voice of Mokuba greeted them from the door. The boy stood next to Tanaka – the man Yugi recognized to be Kaiba's chauffeur. Tanaka held a wet umbrella in hand and stood by the entrance as Mokuba invited himself inside. "Is it okay if I join you guys for tonight? My brother told me I could have a sleepover," the boy looked hopeful.

Of course Kaiba would rid of his brother while he spend his Saturday night with Yami. "Sure, Mokuba, make yourself at home. Thanks for giving Tristan and Joey a ride".

The boy seemed excited, body practically jumping as he scurried around the house looking for the next cool thing. "No problem! 'Sides, brother sent the car here for Yami anyway. Oh, you have pizzas! Awesome! What are we watching?"

Mokuba rambled on as Tea took two towels from the duvet while scolding Joey and Tristan for spilling water all over the place. Yugi glimpsed upstairs only seconds before Yami pranced down with a bag in hand.

"Oh, the ride is here," Yami acknowledged hurriedly as he wore his watch.

"You sure you're skipping the pizza?" Yugi asked.

"I'll eat once I got there. There's this new prototype for the duel disk I gotta check out," Yami was already making his way to Tanaka, "C'mon Tanaka. Bye guys!"

They were left stunned in silence after Tanaka opened the umbrella for Yami and closed the door behind him. Joey glanced at Yugi stiffly, "Don'cha tell me…"

"They're just dueling," Yugi smiled meaningfully.

Later on by midnight, Yugi sluggishly pick up a phone call in the middle of a B rated horror flick. He hushed Joey and Tristan's banter of who was going to be murdered next by the serial killer before greeting the person at the other end of the call. "Yami?"

"Still up?"

"Yeaah, we'll keep on going until we couldn't stay awake anymore. When are you coming home?"

 _"Yeah, about that,_ I'm _staying over_ at _Kaiba's. He took_ _me to the main office at Tokyo to test the new prototype"._

"Wait, you're in Tokyo?" It should've taken hours long ride from Domino to Tokyo.

 _"Yup._ _I'll be back by morning. Say hello to the rest of the guys for me. Bye"._

Yugi blinked stupidly after he heard the call was ended. He turned to the slouched form of Mokuba on the floor. "Is it possible for your brother to drive Yami all the way to Tokyo at night?"

Mokuba didn't seem surprised. "They flew," he answered like it was obvious. When everyone gave him a look, the boy added with a shrug, "He has a chopper".

And this all happened well before Yuugi even caught Yami writing love poems in his math homework.

* * *

 **TBC.**


	3. The Counsellor's Peek

NOTES

chapter is slightly longer. Pardon any mistakes made here.

* * *

THE COUNSELLOR'S PEEK

* * *

To the teachers of Domino High, Seto Kaiba would always be a source of self-doubt and a sense of inadequacy. It was maybe from the way he sat on the chair across from the polished desk of the school's counsellor, or the way he nodded in disinterest – everything he did – that made him seem like a capable adult. That in itself was a bit disconcerting.

Ms. Maya Suzuki shifted in her seat as she took the papers from her drawer. As the counsellor, she needs to review the students' goals and academic career. Seto Kaiba had just transferred to Domino two weeks before - straight from the most prestigious school in Tokyo to the humble Domino High - and she needed to gather about the kinds of extracurricular activities he planned to join.

"However, I can understand if you didn't plan to join any," Ms. Suzuki informed, "The school is willing to take your schedule into consideration".

His hand stopped in the middle of writing his name onto the form given by the counsellor. Seto Kaiba lifted his head and landed his steely blue gaze on the older woman. "And why is that?"

The counsellor tried her best to smile encouragingly. This man sitting across from her couldn't be a 16 year old. He seemed too mature to be one. "We understand that you… have your hands full with your family business?"

And here Seto Kaiba's head slightly turned down and his eyes hardened. His grip on the pen also tightened till his knuckles turned white. "I don't. Not anymore," he answered in a way that told the counsellor not to probe.

"I see," Ms. Suzuki responded instead. Inside, she wondered what changed. Wasn't this the child that made headline news a couple of years ago for making a groundbreaking innovation in a game company his family owned? As a working adult, she didn't pay attention to the hype people around the world were having on a game – however, she knew of the Seto Kaiba that was said to be a prodigy and the attention people gave to his achievements.

Surely, his family didn't transfer him to a small town like Domino for nothing? In fact, half of Domino is convinced his presence meant that Kaiba Corp has an interest to build a branch company in town. If that not happens to be the case, then a lot of people would be disappointed.

"If you haven't figured out what extracurricular activity to join, I don't mind giving you more time," Ms. Suzuki informed when the teen read the list of clubs at the school, "You can take your time, Mr. Kaiba. Look around and explore. Most of them you could find at the west wing of the school, however some of them hold their activities outdoor. You can come to my office anytime if you have any question".

The young man's face returned to its smooth indifferent state. He left the room after giving a respectful bow; leaving Ms. Suzuki to wander if the school was capable of providing him with anything.

* * *

The next time she had Seto Kaiba in her office was three weeks after the last. It was for the permit he requested to leave school for a two weeks duel monster tournament in Tokyo.

Ms. Suzuki arched an eyebrow at that name; duel monster. She remembered it as a card game that has been around since she was a child. It was hard to believe at first that a student like Seto Kaiba could have an affinity toward such a game. After all, Seto Kaiba had proven to be such a model student. He did very well in class, even showing potentials beyond his age. He also appeared to be very serious, perfectionistic, and mature. In conclusion, he didn't seem to be the type to be interested in such games.

However, he did.

The counsellor had done a research online on Seto Kaiba out of curiosity. It turned out that the groundbreaking innovation Kaiba did when he was thirteen was the design for an advanced platform used to play duel monster today. He started making the design when he was twelve and posted it on a kickstarter website when he was thirteen. It gained so much attention that a senior software designer on Kaiba Corp, the company owned by Kaiba's own family, donated 20,000 US dollars on the project.

After that, it was discovered that the design was made by the twelve year old heir of the Kaiba Corp. The project became so blown up that Kaiba Corp finally decided to buy it and make it come true. The boy was given a big role in the project for he served as the icon that popularize the game again after its long dormant present in the ever dynamic gaming scene. He was present in all meetings, major development period, and in its major promotion event. You could see him mingling with important people in the industry as if he was never a child, but actually an adult in disguise.

The game reemerged not only as everyone's hobby, but also a high-paying profession. With it, also came a rising number of teenagers dreaming to be a professional duelers.

Ms. Suzuki eyed Kaiba's leave request curiously. After the research, she found the young man actually ranked first in duel monster world ranking. He had established his dueling career more than a year ago and flourished. He was even first to ever compete under the minimum age limitation in honor to his contribution to the game's current popularity.

The counsellor was still skeptical at the idea of playing a game as a professiin. But this is the Seto Kaiba; he had proven more than just succeed in the career path. So Ms. Suzuki decided to hand the permit letter - already signed by herself and the principal – with a smile.

"We're proud to have a talented student as yourself in this school. Of course we wished you luck in your game," she told the teen warmly. The young man stood facing her desk with a toneless look. He eyed the permit letter, took it, and bowed his thanks. Despite his detached personality, Ms. Suzuki couldn't help but adore the young man – such a well-mannered and talented youth. His handsome appearance and neat look made him a favorite even among the teachers. It's quite hard to deny him anything at this point when he impressed them that much.

After his departure, Ms. Suzuki was left with the feeling that Mr. Kaiba was able to do well in school after all. The whole school was worried he'd send his influential family against them on every single mistake. He turned out to be a good student though.

It was then that another staff brought her a letter. It was another two weeks leave request.

From Yami Mutou.

* * *

The Mutou brothers were known throughout Domino as quite a distinguishable pair. Fact is, they were half Egyptian and this was made prominent in their exotic features. It was rather nice to look at, actually. Ms. Suzuki remembered the day Yami Mutou, the older brother, arrived in Domino High and everyone couldn't help but ask who he is.

Specifically for the older Mutou, there's always a wild spark in him – and most people expected him to be a trouble student. But he turned to be another of the school staff's favorite instead. The teen was among the ten highest scorers in every exam and was a prominent member in the student council. He was well-liked among his peers, especially popular among his underclassmen, and was known to be an inspiring leader-type everywhere he went.

Despite all that, he was nowhere near Seto Kaiba's record. Thus, the counsellor inspected Yami's request with skepticism.

The teen was aiming to participate in the same tournament as Seto Kaiba yet Ms. Suzuki had no knowledge if the prior had a known record with duel monster. It was exactly that question which the counsellor asked the minute the older Mutou arrived in her office.

"It's my debut in an official tournament, actually," he admitted, "But I've been dueling my whole life with friends".

That didn't convince her. Not that he doubt Yami Mutou. The teen was very intelligent and he was known to surprise people with a side of his that was mature and insightful. Both Mutou's youngsters had always have a spark in their eyes that said they were meant for something more. However, as a counsellor, she has to consider a lot of things before granting a student with a two weeks absence.

This case was different to Seto Kaiba, who not only seem like he was beyond his peers, but also proven it. Yami Mutou didn't make a worldwide name for himself nor had he ever made a groundbreaking accomplishment.

"Mam, please. You know me when I play chess. Trust me, I'm way more vicious in dueling that I will ever be in chess. I'll prove to you". He had that look; the fierce stare. It was a signature look known to be the older Mutou's. He could be quite a bold presence once determined.

Ms. Suzuki sighed and looked down to Mutou's request letter. The teen was the strongest player in the school's chess club. She had seen him play; boy was he a scary opponent. "How would you afford going to the tournament? It would cost you quite a sum unless you're honored with an official invitation for recognized duelers," she asked. Mutou answered with a smile.

"I've saved enough money, Ms. Suzuki, you don't need to worry".

'It's your future I'm worried about. You're the last person I expected to pay that much for a card game from my childhood,' the counsellor thought.

"Mam, you know I am serious about my study and my responsibilities. I've always been. And this is one of my greatest passion. I promise you, I'm not playing with my decisions. I beg you for your trust and I won't disappoint".

She knew this was coming. She knew her resolve will break sooner or later. Yami Mutou was known to be such a speaker. "Fine," she admitted defeat, "But only because I trust you for your reputation. If it's that Wheeler from class 2-D asking for this, I wouldn't be as compliant".

She signed the letter and told the teen that she'd gave it to the principal as soon as she can. She told herself that it would be best for Mutou to learn from experience that duel monster, at the point it was now, was a game for the rich and talented; definitely not for a small towner like a youngster from Domino.

Before leaving the counsellor's office, Mutou sent her his beautiful confident grin and a short thanks. The counsellor had a frown, but a pink flush betrayed her expression. 'The kid's lucky he's cute,' she thought.

* * *

A week later the counsellor found herself forgetting about the matter with her students. Afterall, she does have a life to manage; especially after her recent divorce and shared custody. It was the second weekend of the month and so it was her turn to watchover her son. Shhe drove an hour to another town to pick her son in her ex-husband's home. She took her son on a trip to the mall, where they shopped and watched a movie.

They arrived at her place right in time for her to prepare dinner. He seemed to forgot to join her at the table though. "Honey! Dinner's ready!" She called out for her son from the kitchen, but no one answered.

"Honey!" She made her way to her son's room. Once there, she saw him sitting cross-legged on the floor with his huge headphone on. She crossed her arms by the door, "Honey, what are you doing?"

The nine year old turned to his Mom. "Hold up, mom, I'm watching a livestream!"

She frowned and decided to sit next to her son. "Watching what?" Her eyes rounded at the sight on the younger's phone, "What is that?"

Her son grinned. "Duel monster – probably the coolest game ever. They're having a massive tournament in Tokyo right now! I have a collection of cards myself. One day, I would love to own one of those duel disks," he pointed to his phone, "But it's kind of expensive".

His mother stared silently at the phone. On the screen you'd see two strangers battling on an arena. However, what's shocking was the sight of huge monsters between the two competitors. Those. Those were duel monster – the card game the boys in her grade school used to play? True, the monsters seemed very familiar and it was stunning to see them in life-sized form.

"You know, those duel disks?" He pointed again at the sight of intricate object on each of the competitors's arms, "They were made by a teen not much older than me!"

"Yeah," The school counsellor was suddenly reminded of her two students, "Seto Kaiba, my student".

"No, mom, Seto Kaiba goes to a school in Tokyo!"

"But he transferred here," she replied again, "He's in my school. And he's participating in that tournament as we're talking, along with another student of mine".

The boy gasped at her mom. "No way! Seto Kaiba is in Domino? Why didn't you tell me that you know him?" He pouted, "And who's your other student?"

"You wouldn't know him, it's his first time going to this kind of event," she wondered how he was doing, "His name is Yami Mutou".

Her boy seemed even more bewildered than before when she mentioned the name. "You mean Yami Mutou is from Domino?!"

"Yeah. His family runs a game shop not far from school," she explained curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Mom! Yami Mutou is like the current hot topic in dueling! He came out of nowhere and beating everyone left and right. He's like..., like a dark horse! Yeah, that's what they call him! And people are convinced he'd be Kaiba's opponent on the finals".

It was probably the first time she ever saw her boy looking this excited talking about someone. He was practically bouncing and swinging his arms everywhere. "Mom you gotta introduce me to this guy. I'm like his number one fan now!"

"You like him more than Kaiba?"

"More than Kaiba!" He answered. She smiled warmly. To think that her son would root for her student - and not the new student who just transferred from Tokyo mind you. What does Yami Mutou has in him that could inflict such an adoration from a young child?

 _Maybe he is that good in the game,_ she thought to herself, _he told me he'll prove it after all. Never knew he had it in him._

* * *

"The school is always interested on the students' acievements. We'd like to keep in touch with your progress and be there if any assistance is needed," Ms. Suzuki exolained once Seto Kaiba was seated in her office that Tuesday morning. It was the second day since the teen's return from the tournament and she was excited to see him thanks to her son's influence. She had started seeing duel monster as more than a mere children' game it used to be. To think that this youth in front of him could be making such an advanced technology was rather fascinating.

"So that's why you want me to complete this form?" Seto Kaiba eyed the paper handed to him with the usual disinterest in his face. Ms. Suzuki was accustomed to the expression, however, she couldnt help but notice the slight scowl and the tad of distaste in his eyes. Did something happen, she wondered, for the usually distant Seto Kaiba to be this animated just because of a bit paperwork.

"Yes. It only takes a moment, I assure you, Mr. Kaiba. There's still 15 minutes before class starts. Take your time, I'm still waiting for another student to join us".

"Another student?" Ms. Suzuki heard the teen asking, but her answer was disrupted by the sound from her door. Yami Mutou just invited himself inside.

"I'm sorry for taking my time. I need to visit the student council," Yami said as he strode over the counsellor's desk. At Kaiba's bewildered face, he calmly - if not teasingly - said, "Kaiba".

"He studies here!" Kaiba exclaimed begrudgingly. Ms. Suzuki wasn't sure what the problem between the two was, but she swallowed nervously and tried to explain.

"Mr. Mutou has been a student here. He's in the classroom next to yours at 2B. You met him at the tournament, I presumed?"

The brunette ignored her to glare at the other teen, to which Mutou responded to with a smirk as he sat down on the seat right next to Kaiba's. _Something is going on between these two,_ Ms. Suzuki concluded. Never before did she see so much expression in Seto Kaiba's face. Mutou seemed rather calm to be under that steely glare; in fact, he seemed gloatful.

The counsellor instructed Mutou to fill in the same kind of document. The two teenagers didn't exchange any words while they complete their papers, but Ms. Suzuki noticed the hostile look Kaiba is sending the shorter or how Mutou's lips formed a smirk everytime he noticed how the other is looking at him.

Mutou actually finished his paper first and excused himself hurriedly for he was needed to check on the student council before class. The counsellor was left alone with Kaiba, who kept on glaring at the door as if chasing after Mutou's shadow. To make the situation less tense, Ms. Suzuki decided to divert the teen's attention somewhere else.

"So, it's been awhile since your transfer here isn't it? Have you decided on what afterschool activities to join?" She asked with a cheerful voice. The teen still seemed stormy, but he answered with a dark voice.

"What kind of activities does Mutou join in?"

"The older Mutou? Let's see, he...," she tried to remember, "He used to join all sorts of club. He's in the chess club and the astronomy club once. But after he got involved with the student council, he's doesn't spend as much time on those two clubs," her brows met, "Oh, I think he's still active in poetry cl -".

"Student council".

"Hm?"

Seto Kaiba turned to her at last. He looked very determined, "Let me join the student council".

She meant to explain that it doesn't work that way; that the student council doesn't involve new members that much and, even when they do, they wouldn't always team you up (or against) Mutou. But Seto Kaiba was so determined that he left the counsellor's office without further words, not even giving his usual respectful bow.

Was it possible that those two don't get along well? Ms. Suzuki shook her head and gathered their papers. She reviewed it and was surprised to see that Kaiba wrote himself as placing second at the latest tournament. Adding to that, Yami listed himself as first.

* * *

The next time she saw those two in the same room would be months after; when she summoned them to discuss their studies in regards to another two weeks leave permit they were requesting. She noted, however, that the two request seemed to be made by one person and were signed by Amy Dunn, who acts as Seto Kaiba's guardian and assistant for as long as his stay in Domino.

Ms. Suzuki was worried Mutou is going behind his grandfather's back to compete in another tournament without the older man's acknowledgement. However out of character that seemed to be for Mutou, she still had to confirm all possibilities So before meeting her two students in her office, she made a call to the Mutou's residence

"Oh, yes! Kaiba just told us about the competition yesterday!" Solomon told the counsellor after she questioned him of his knowledge regarding the tournament that will take place a month from then. "Said that a family friend is sponsoring the event and so he got an early notice. He gave Yami his first official invitation letter just last night".

So Yami was recognized by people enough that he was given an invitation. "I see. I'm wondering if your oldest grandson planned to go?"

"He wants to go! He's very excited to go actually," the man replied, "Is there any problem Ms. Suzuki?"

"U-m, no. Of course not. I was just wondering if you gave him your permission".

"Of course I do! Yami has always wanted to be a professional dueller. As a grandfather and his guardian, all I can do is give him my full support".

The call ended on a good note, yet it made Ms. Suzuki even more confused. The leave permit request was submitted three days ago, but why did the Mutous only knew of the competition last night?

Did that mean Kaiba arranged for Mutou's leave without the latter's knowledge?

Ms. Suzuki shook her head in confusion. The idea just seemed improper and she couldn't imagine Seto Kaiba ever doing that. She made her way from the staff lounge to her office where the front desk lady had waited to hand her some documents from the principal. Ms. Suzuki flipped over the pages of the documents carefully when the front desk woman told her; "Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou are waiting for you in your office, ma'am".

"They're here already?" Ms. Suzuki checked her watch. True enough, the students should be having their break now. "Thank you. I'll be seeing them now".

She was walking a bit hurriedly to her office while still paying attention to the papers in her hands. Some of the papers almost fell; so she stopped by the door and scurried to fix her hands around them. Once she got them under control, she looked up expecting her two guests to notice her. "Sorry, I -"

She quickly shut her mouth. Both Mutou and Kaiba seemed to be comfortable in their own company. They were sitting on the two seats facing the counsellor's desk, and thus having their backs to the door; but even then Ms. Suzuki noticed that Mutou seemed to be half-turned toward Kaiba with his head tilted the other way so he could see the other eye-to-eye. Kaiba had his elbow resting on the back of Mutou's seat, seeming to take a relaxed posture as he used said hand to prop his head. They were talking in hushed voice that made the scene strangely... intimate.

The counsellor felt like she was barging into something. She coughed to give the two time to compose theirselves, but they simply turned their heads to her and fixed their forms calmly - Kaiba took the hand that was resting on Mutou's chair and Yami turned his body so that he could properly face the counsellor. They acted so casual that she thought she was imagining things.

"Sorry I'm late," she took her seat and eyed between the two carefully. _Has something changed in the months I didn't see these two?_ She wondered. "I am calling you here to discuss the matter with your requested leave. The principal is concerned regarding your studies. With this alone and the absence you took last time, the two of you will spend a month away from school in total and we assume that you two will take more time off after, with your activities that is".

Mutou seemed concerned about the issue. Kaiba, however, seemed like he'd seen this coming. He glanced at the back of Mutou's head, surprisingly with no malice laced in his stare, before he addressed the counsellor. "You're saying the school is willing to arrange something while we are away".

Ms. Suzuki nodded. "The school is in full support of the students' succes, of course, but studying is still your priority. A different method is needed to keep you guys in touch with your studies. The principal wants to arrange a time for everyone to discuss this, preferably with your guardians present".

"Saturday," Kaiba gave his sure answer almost instantly. Mutou sighed.

"Grandpa will be off on a trip this Saturday, actually -"

"It's on Sunday," Kaiba disrupted sharply. Mutou turned to him, "What?"

"His trip. It's on Sunday," Kaiba repeated. A tense silence soon followed in which Ms. Suzuki's eyes switched between the two's form. In the end, Mutou shrugged and turned to the woman in the room.

"Saturday then," the shorter teen said in agreement.

Ms. Suzuki coughed for the second time that day - this time out of awkwardness. "Saturday then. I'll inform the principal after this. By the way, these are your permit letter," she handed them the two envelope she just received from the front desk. "I also need to point out that the request letter should be signed by your own guardian. I find it strange for Ms. Dunn to sign both of yours including Mr. Mutou's".

Mutou didn't seem appaled by the information. Instead he took both envelopes and gave one to Kaiba. Kaiba was the one to explain. "I just thought it'll make things easier for everyone," he said without remorse, "If you excuse us, Ma'am".

She nodded at the two. The boys stood from their seat and gave her a short bow.

She saw Kaiba leading the way out and opened the door for the shorter, in which Mutou stubbornly stopped in his track to glare at the other. Yet Kaiba seemed equally stubborn as he held his place by the door to wait for Mutou to walk out first. Mutou eventually gave in, but not before giving an exaggerated sigh and an eyeroll. Kaiba followed the shorter teen shortly after, and Ms. Suzuki swore she saw the latter reaching out toward the lower side of Mutou's back.

The counsellor froze. She was sure that wasn't a gesture toward a rival nor was it for a friend. No, this was something more, but was it possible?

Before she reached any conclusion, Kaiba turned to her and gave a slight nod at her way. Then it happened; he smiled - smirk was a closer description to it, but Ms. Suzuki was far too surprised to surmise of anything else. Never before had she seen Seto Kaiba smile in the time he transferred here.

Once the door was closed, she had her hands on her face, practically covering the flush on her cheeks. _Those two,_ she thought, _they would be the death of me._

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **Thank you for the support and comments! Never thought this would be deemed adorable.**


	4. Yami's Hand

NOTE

1\. Warning: overdone fluff

2\. I edited this poorly, so pardon the strange flow of this chapter

* * *

YAMI'S HAND

* * *

Truth to be told, Seto had always appreciated Yami's physical features from the start. He couldn't help it; the other boy really is beautiful. The area around his ears, going through the jaw and the long neck Seto liked especially. If only Yami didn't run his smart mouth, Seto would probably not feel any malice at the start of their rivalry. Something so beautiful, in Seto's opinion, should stay silent and pretty.

However, it was exactly Yami's cheeky attitude that made it hard for Seto to forget the other boy's cocky smirk. He just had to beat Seto game after game, in which Seto has to come back for revenge and the cycle start all over again. To every word Seto uttered, he would have the perfect return; to the point that Seto would have to listen to his worthless argument about love, life, friendship and the such. If only the other boy was less intelligent, less talented, and less interested in duel monster; then maybe Seto wouldn't have much trouble asking him out. But he had to have all of those traits; making Seto's heart run a mile as though he never liked anyone before. Because someone so brilliant – so so like Seto, yet so so unlike Seto – should've never existed in the first place.

And the guy still had the gal to ask Seto why Seto asked him out. "I just don't get what you see in me," the half-Egyptian said before sipping his coffee. To Seto's knowledge, this is the kind of question middleschoolers would ask their date just to hear what they've always wanted to hear.

Yami, in Seto's perspective, has that side in him. Despite his brilliant mind, he was a romantic at heart – a sappy one, in fact. And however much Seto found that trait of Yami's puzzling, foolish, and surprisingly naïve for someone so intelligent; he also likes it.

Just because he likes Yami's foolishness though, doesn't mean he has to be act foolish too. He ignored his boyfriend's inquire in exchange to sipping his coffee. Yami snorted.

They finished their coffee in no hurry while chatting about the latest development from professional duelers around the world. Once it's time to leave, they raced to slam their share of payment to the table. Pride still got a way into their date thus the matter of who is paying and who isn't was still a huge debate between them. Thankfully, in this café they frequented every weekends, they've agreed to pay in halves; and thus, no arguments ensued.

The walk from the café to school was spent in silence. Seto spent it to reply his mails and Yami busied himself by calling his grandpa. The school was not as busy as usual that day, but it was still busting with energy. Students often use their weekends to do club meetings. You'd see the sport clubs cooling down by the running track, the art club forming a circle around a tree to practice sketching, the drama club practicing yoga while wearing a star shaped hat (those drama kids – they're the quirkiest ones), and a bunch of students could be seen sitting on the stairs, singing loudly while holding a cardboard box that has a bold 'DONATE!' written on it. Seto and Yami ignored the whole scene and aimed straight to their destination on the ground floor; to the staff meeting room.

As expected, Solomon Mutou and Seto's assistant, Amy Dunn, were already present in the meeting room. They were chatting merrily with their school counsellor and wouldn't have noticed the boys arrival if Seto hadn't coughed. "The Principal has a guest in his office. He'll join us in ten minutes. You can sit down and wait here," Ms. Suzuki informed.

Yami was the one to deny her. He shook his head politely. "We'll wait outside. If you excuse us ma'am".

The boys ended up standing in the hallways outside of the meeting room with their backs leaning to the wall. Yami had his hands in his pockets while Seto's arms crossed in front of his chest. Frequently, a couple of students passed by and greeted them – most greeted Yami by name, but glance shyly at the teen standing next to him. Yugi happened to walk by not long after along with Tea. He greeted them cheerfully after noticing his brother, not forgetting to ask about Seto's day. "You're meeting the Principal, right? To talk about that study plan while you're absent from school," Yugi noted. Tea looked surprised.

"There's such a thing? What could they have prepared for you guys?" Her head perked, "What if they planned to give you a free pass all the way to graduation?"

Seto thought it was the stupidest thing she could've suggest. But she looked at him and smiled – as if she could read his distaste and take it as a joke.

Yugi and Tea bid their goodbye after a cheeleader came to get Tea. The two waved and left to their respective clubs. And then they saw it.

Yugi and Tea linking hands as they walked ahead.

The gesture seemed casual for the two that most people would brush it off. But Yami and Seto's eyes latched onto their linked hands; only taking their eyes off once the two lovebirds disappeared from view. "Huh," Seto snorted and looked way. He took a glimpse at Yami, only to have their eyes met in a split second before Yami turned his head the other way. By then he wondered if the scene triggered an idea in his boyfriend's head. Yami was rather prone to sentimentalism.

Another group of people walked by. Yami strangely ignored them for the most part even though they called out to him.

"Don't you think it's interesting how couples like to do it," Yami said once the group left the hallway. "Holding hands, I mean," the teen added. Seto rolled his eyes.

"It's two hands meeting. What more there is to it?" Come on, Seto had experienced way beyond hand-holding, and here he was discussing this?

"I know," Yami shrugged. He tilted his head back and bumped it to the wall behind him, "Yugi and Tea seemed like they enjoy it. They like to do it at home, when they think no one is watching".

Seto scowled. Trust Yugi to not make out with his cheerleader girlfriend when he had her all to himself. For Seto, holding hands and the such hold no significance. He preferred going in for the kill; something more physical. No wonder Yami 's lips was rarely left idling nowadays.

"I want to touch your hand".

Yami was looking at Seto with the face he has everytime he 's immersed in a duel. Seto's orbs traced over the sharp lines of the other boy's face and wondered how someone who looked so fierce could say something utterly stupid.

… yet Seto still likes it.

"Sure," the brunette shrugged. He reached out toward Yami with one hand; to which Yami eyed tentatively before making a grab for it. His hand hovered over Seto's for a split second.

Then he grasped it.

"Mr. Mutou, Mr. Kaiba".

The two boys snapped their heads to the door; hands still connected. Ms. Suzuki, who just appeared from inside the meeting room, was squinting at their hands before looking back and forth between them. By then they must've seem like they were in an awkward handshake to her – unless she has been suspecting them as a couple. "You can go inside now," she said finally.

The boys released their hands hurriedly, almost as if the connection electrified them, and followed the woman into the meeting room. Before closing the door behind her, Ms. Suzuki rolled her eyes. This is what you get for going to school on the weekends; you get to see two boys holding hands.

* * *

The meeting felt like background sound compared to how their minds played the memory of the brief contact moments ago on repeat. Seto couldn't stopped clenching and unclenching the hand that just touched Yami's while his eyes kept roaming to the other boy's way. Yami was distracted too. He kept on looking at his hand in an absent manner.

The meeting – something about arranging a special online curriculum for the two student duelers - went smoothly without much fuss. The whole idea was simple, the school wanted their two students to be able to keep up with their studies even when they're away from school. By the time the meeting ended, an hour had gone by. Good, Seto would rather not spend another minute listening to a bunch of people talk while he awkwardly sent glances to Yami over the table.

Amy could be seen making pleasantries with Mr. Mutou and the teachers when Yami – that unpredictable boy – interrupted their exchanges.

"Can I borrow Seto for awhile? I planned to introduce him to the student council members now that he had joined," the teen said, "I promise I won't be too long".

Seto frowned. If Yami planned to introduce him to a bunch of self-serving 'student council' members, he has yet to inform Seto. The more Seto bore hole to the back of the other boy's head, the more he knew the latter was up to something.

"Sure. I'll be waiting in the car with Tanaka then. Ring us when you're done," Amy responded.

Yami nodded. He gave Seto a short, "C'mon," before leading him out of the meeting room, climbing upstairs to the second floor, ignoring a flock of noisy teenagers, then stopping outside the empty student council office.

"What are you up to?" Seto asked flatly while Yami dug his pocket for keys. The boy opened the office door rather carelessly and waited for Seto to enter. The taller teen went inside and looked around. The room was … messy.

"Quite underwhelming," Seto voiced his distaste. Yami had yet say anything. Instead, he closed the door, locked it, and grabbed a random swivel chair. He sat down hugging the backrest of the chair; hands crossed neatly around said backrest while he rested his head on it.

Seto stood in the middle of the room, eyeing his object of interest curiously "You're acting strange," he let out his observation. Yami started looking unsure and shy.

Suddenly, the shorter boy reached out a hand with the palm facing the taller boy. "I want to hold hands," he said.

Seto responded with a snort. He stepped closer to his lover and , almost roughly, ran his fingers through Yami's outspread ones and clenched tightly on the palm. Seto was sure he heard Yami gasp. The shorter boy didn't return Seto's strong hold on his hand at first. He looked awed and surprised.

When he returned the gesture, it was with such gentleness that Seto couldn't help but notice how time slowed down and everything seemed to focus on their connected hands. Yami had a somber curious look on his face as he tightened and untightened his hold on Seto's, then he released it only to mingle their fingers together, then he tickled it, caressed it, squeezed each fingers, then poked at it. Everything he did was silly – but it sent tingles allover Seto's body. And this sensation, whatever it was, pulsed within Seto like it couldn't stop at the first wave of feeling it's sending.

Yami settled with mingling their fingers while keeping a weak hold on Seto's hand. The look of deep concentration left his visage; replaced with a soft smile. "So this is what the craze is all about huh?" He commented, "It's not bad".

"You say that, but you look like you'd take my hand home if you could," Seto tried to sound hostile, but it came out as a gentle teasing. Yami chuckled and gave a lazy hum in agreement.

* * *

On their way to the school gate, Yami returned to his usual self – greeting people by their first name as though he was everyone's best friend, doing small talks to random students, even singing along with those kids who ask for donation (Seto, of course, shadowed his lover with a bewildered look on his face). The two walked to the school gate acting like usual – in a way that made it hard to see that they were dating.

The street beyond the school gate was rather desolated because no one bothered passing by the school on the weekend. Yami stopped in front of Kaiba with a pursed lips – feet busy kicking the invisible dirt on the ground. "So…, Amy is on her way huh?" Yami mumbled. Seto nodded and checked his phone. The assistant texted that she got bored of waiting and took the car with her to grab a cup of coffee

Yami was still fidgeting. However irresistible he was when he got restless like that, Seto still couldn't help wanting to know what bothered the other boy. The shorter gave a final lazy kick to the ground before saying, "So today is…," he kept his eyes to the ground, "It was nice".

Unknown why, Seto felt like looking down too. They've kissed before, a lot. So why were they acting shy now?

Yami was reaching down toward Seto's hand now. He took the hand shyly and held it close to him with both of his hands. Yami stared at the palm with interest. He traced each lines and fingers with care. "I like your hand," Yami said, "I like touching it".

Then he placed a kiss on top of Seto's opened palm.

Seto could see his black Audi approaching from behind Yami as the latter finished his worship on Seto's hand. Yami released Seto's hand after acknowledging the car and smirked playfully.

"You little devil," Seto meant that to sound playful, but the tension was thick in his voice. He ended up brushing his hands behind Yami's ear to avoid speaking, making Yami flinch away from the ticklish touch.

It was time for them to part. Things were a bit awkward after the hand-touching so they hesitated on their usual parting kiss. Seto, especially, felt out of tune.

"Hey, kiss me," Yami hissed finally. Seto rolled his eyes and landed a short peck onto the small lips.

"Call me after you're done with poetry club," Seto reminded in the middle of approaching his car. Tanaka was already by the door, keeping it open for the Young Master.

"You too. Call me after you've picked up Mokuba," Yami replied. The shorter teen stepped back carefully as the car made a U-turn toward where it came from. He waved at the car, oblivious to the fact that Seto was a mess once he was in the privacy of his car. The brunette looked at the hand Yami kissed like it was not his own, before sinking his face to it and letting out a long guttural growl in frustration - resulting to a confused Amy and a worried Tanaka. He just catched Yami's sentimental disease! It was impossible for him to _feel_ this much otherwise.

Yami, in the other hand, confused his poet coach by the sudden fixation on hands in his latest lyric. "You could say he's feeling handy with his poet today," one random clubmate joked, "Ayyy!"

No one laughed

* * *

 **TBC.**


	5. Tanaka's Young Master

NOTES

1\. This chapter is all about background. If you wonder why I changed Kaiba's family and past background so much, it's because I found his canon past to be too distracting to my story. To keep things light and focused on the main couple, I changed a lot of the canon including Kaiba's childhood and the millenium item.

2\. This story is posted in ffnet and AO3. To abide to each site's rules, I post the clean version of this story to ffnet and the full sexual explicit content on AO3. So yes, this story will have MA rated content in the future.

* * *

TANAKA'S YOUNG MASTER

* * *

Tanaka was happy to say that, among the Kaiba's, Seto Kaiba was where his loyalty lies. He had practically drove the boy around since before he was even born, considering the fact that he was the former Mrs. Kaiba's private chauffeur. Mrs. Kisara Kaiba was a famous actress in Japan, known for her half-French origin. She was not only a beautiful woman, but also fiercely independent and intelligent. Tanaka remembered traveling with her and dealing with the paparazzi and obsessed fans; everyday was quite eventful back then.

When she started to swell in her pregnancy, the trip to the shooting location was soon replaced by the trip to the hospital. She made lesser appearances in the big screen and opted for talk shows and staying at home instead. Tanaka was the one to drove her to the hospital for her labor and also the first to ever drive young Seto Kaiba home. As the years went by, Tanaka watches over Seto Kaiba growing up to be a fine toddler as he accompanied his mother everywhere she goes.

But back then, Tanaka had never titled himself as Seto Kaiba's chaffeur. No. He was Kisara Kaiba's, the famous actress and the wife of the infamous Gozaburo Kaiba. He was used to helping her getting inside the car without messing her flashy outfit, seeing her socializing with managers and producers alike in the backseat, fending her off from reporters, and running away from a crowd of people. He was her chauffeur and he expected to stay that way until the end of time, if possible.

Which was not, of course. Seto Kaiba was 6 when Gozaburo was discovered hiding an affair. And it was not just an affair; the hidden relationship had also resulted in a birth out of wedlock. As the family dictated, the offspring of the family should be kept with the family. Thus, Mokuba Kaiba was adopted to the Kaiba's name, while his mother, whose background made her deemed an unworthy companion to the Kaiba Patriarch, was forced to desist.

However, Kisara Kaiba would not accept being second to anyone. She asked for a divorce, even after knowing that the mistress wouldn't have a chance at the Mrs. Kaiba's title. The next couple of months were spent driving Mrs. Kaiba and her legal team back and forth to the court while being careful not to get caught by the growing number of reporters interested in the scandal. In the rare times Seto Kaiba rode with his mother; Tanaka noted the way the boy's face looked grimmer and grimmer each day. Unfortunately, he was far too intelligent to not know what was going on.

There was that strange moment where Tanaka heard Kisara speaking to her child in the supposed privacy of their car. "Seto, if you could pick, whom do you want to live with? Mummy or Daddy?"

Tanaka kept his head straight, but he couldn't help his eyes from wandering to the rear window to peek at the mother and son. Seto could be seen looking up at his mother who sat next to him.

"With Daddy," he answered.

"Why Daddy?"

"Because I'm going to own his company one day," the boy answered truthfully; straightforward but not practiced. Kisara could be heard giggling.

"That's my boy," she praised. Tanaka knew Seto was would never be happier with anyone but Kisara; however, the chauffeur understood the family affair was complicated enough that Kisara had to step back from her parenting right. With Seto's status as the first born who shows obvious prodigy traits; it would be impossible for the Kaiba's to let him go. Kisara knew this fact too well.

Tanaka was actually the last to ever drive Kisara as Mrs. Kaiba, and the first to ever drive her as Ms. Kisara Shiroi, her maiden name. He was also the last to see her speaking with her son for awhile as he chauffeured them to the International Airport. Kisara had decided to leave her old life and move to New York. Tanaka had never seen Seto Kaiba looked so small as they drove there. He clung to her mother's dress while she whispered comforting words.

"Don't be sad, Seto. You still have Tanaka by your side, don't you?" Kisara cheered, though you could hear the thick loss in her voice, "You'll watch over Seto for me, wont you, Tanaka?"

Tanaka had never given a bigger yes before. On their way back from the airport, Tanaka had officially became Seto Kaiba's chauffeur.

* * *

The years that followed was basically Tanaka driving the Young Master to and from the school. There were very little words exchanged between them; but Tanaka knew the child well enough to understand him through his silence.

The boy became more aloof, distant, and cold since his mother's departure. He had always been an independent child, of course; but there used to be some warmth left in him when his mother was present. Nowadays, his tone of speech got flatter and his eyes darkened with early maturity. In his childhood years, he never took a friend home, never went to a friend's house, never went to birthdays, and he never even visited the park to play.

The most Tanaka ever saw of Seto Kaiba's company being books and a set of cards – duel monster cards. The chauffeur knew that the Master was furious of his son's interest on the card game; the man thought it was immature and rather tasteless for a Kaiba to be into such child games. So The younger Kaiba hid his cards in the car and would be seen browsing through it when he's on the road. The car ride was Seto Kaiba's only redemption after the constant pressure and high expectation he received from Gozaburo on a daily basis at home. In the car, without any expectations, without anyone to deny him anything, he could be himself. Tanaka was happy to oblige.

Came the child's eleventh birthday, his father gave him a KC tablet, a new product from Kaiba Corp. The books that used to be the boy's long time company started getting absent from their ride. As a replacement, Seto Kaiba could be seen getting immersed in his new tablet, along with other kinds of the best technologies Kaiba Corps. could offer. The only thing that didn't change was the presence of the young Kaiba's deck of cards next to him.

Tanaka never knew what the Young Master was holing himself into when he had that tablet in his hands. He discovered that you could read from the tablet – so maybe it was an exact replacement of his books. But the focused look the boy had in his face every time he used that handheld technology was different to the way he normally sees his books.

It wasn't until Seto Kaiba was thirteen did Tanaka finally knew what the Young Master had been up to. He heard about it from the servants in the main house. "The Master is pleased of The Young Master," they said. "The Young Master went ahead of what is expected of him," they said. It took awhile for Tanaka to grasp the whole concept, but later on he learned that the Young Master had publicize a design and it was highly appreciated by the public. And surprisingly, this design had everything to do with that card game his father used to mock him with.

Technology sure had a lot to play in this – but Tanaka didn't know much about technology. Long story short, the Young Master's design was recognized enough that Mr. Gozaburo himself decided to buy the design and make it come true under the company's wing. With that, The Young Master was adopted to be one of the project's developer. It was a matter of celebration, of course. Tanaka remembered a number of national TV making a report on a 'brilliant thirteen year old' who was capable of doing 'something beyond his years'. The news became somewhat viral after it was aired at the end of the evening news along with a report from the local zoo. It became a positive sensation in the middle of a stormy political climate in Japan; and that made Seto Kaiba a household name.

Under what the public see as a 'wonderchild' phenomenon, however, everything was a serious business. Seto Kaiba took his responsibilities like a full pledged adult. He had his hands full not only of school, but also of the project he labored from his own hands.

Tanaka's job had then extended from picking The Young Master up from school to driving him to some of Kaiba Corps most important buildings. Thanks to that, Tanaka heard his fair share of inside information, saw his fair share of secret meetings, and met his fair share of famous faces. And in the middle of all that was the wonderchild himself, Seto Kaiba, handling himself smoothly as though he had always been a part of such a mature intellectual community.

His mind instantly flashed back to the times he worried over the Young Master's lack of friend. But after seeing the young Kaiba handling himself like an adult, Tanaka realized that maybe Seto Kaiba was never a child.

Maybe the Young Master really was an adult in disguise.

Maybe he really shouldn't be treated like a child all along.

Tanaka found solace in this conclusion. His Young Master never seemed happier in the years he had to withstand alone without his mother. And thus, as promised with the former lady herself, Tanaka shall give the Young Master his full support, whether he wanted to act like most kids his age, or preferred to be as old as Tanaka.

That is, until she came around.

* * *

Her name is Saki Ono; a person put in charge by Mr. Gozaburo to assist his son in both his studies and his duties in the company. She was first introduced to Tanaka a year after the Young Master's sudden fame. Saki Ono appeared as a Japanese young woman with delicate features and a 'classic beauty' kind of face. He remembered her smile when she first shook his hand; bright, intelligent, and confident despite her lithe figure.

"I'll be in your care. Please call me Saki".

Tanaka found himself thinking she'd be a brilliant addition to his twosome ride with the Young Master.

The Young Master, however, didn't instantly take a liking to her. They were first introduced in the car when Tanaka picked the Young Master from school. After she introduced herself as his new assistant, the teen started judging her top to bottom, even going as far as criticizing her gender. She had no chance to defend herself then. Seto Kaiba was known to be judgmental and sharp-tongued.

It was only after Gozaburo himself informed his son of her role through phone that Seto Kaiba finally cut his malicious comments. He didn't, however, stop from glaring at her. And before leaving the car, the teen actually took a moment to hiss at her.

"I don't need a babysitter".

A loud slam of the car door soon followed to warn his new assistant not to follow. Tanaka turned to the woman with an apologetic look. She looked at him looking rather disgruntled.

"Wow," she took a deep breath. The smile she had didn't look as confident as before, "For a fourteen year old he sure didn't act nor talk like it".

If only Tanaka knew, he would correct her opinion of the younger man right away. But he didn't. Instead, he laughed encouragingly and said, "That's our Young Master for you".

* * *

Eventually, Saki Ono proved herself to be a capable woman who's quick on her feet with a sharper wit to follow. The first days she shared with Tanaka and the Kaiba heir was tense as her words and dedication were returned with silence if not sharp retorts. When Seto Kaiba was absent from the car, she would be murmuring words of encouragement and correction to herself as she worriedly fix her hair. But came the second month of her employment, she started acting more relaxed and like herself. In the constant silence and hostile behavior Seto Kaiba sent her ways, she'd gave the Young Master's sharp remarks of her own – most of them filled with playful humor, but certainly not lacking a bite of intellect.

It seemed that this was the start of Seto Kaiba's acknowledgement of her. Tanaka often caught him eyeing her curiously from behind his tablet, sometimes even returning her retorts with something of similar fervor – witty, sarcastic, and definitely not hostile. The critics became a battle of sarcasm and irony instead, which became somewhat a unique relationship between the two.

Then Seto Kaiba started entrusting her with tasks – tasks that she'd execute with tremendous results. He took her with him to meetings, even reminding her ahead to prepare for gala dinners or parties with sponsors.

Tanaka couldn't be more proud to say that Seto Kaiba had finally found a friend.

Then came the Young Master's infamous fifteen birthday – a cause of celebration in the Kaiba's main house. The party was huge, inviting celebrities and politicians alike for the Kaiba's to flaunt their heir. It definitely wasn't your typical pool party with free alcohol and teenagers making out in parents' bedrooms; but it was befitting for Seto Kaiba.

Tanaka remembered being told to pick her up first by the Young Master himself. She came out of her apartment looking beautiful with a barnd new dress that was definitely of a designer's label and a set of matching jewelries. "Do I look weird?" She asked Tanaka shyly once she was inside of the car, "The Young Master bought this for me".

Tanaka gave her the most genuine smile a brutish 48 year old chauffeur who doubles as a bodyguard could give. "You look wonderful," he told her; and her smile grew.

He heard the same compliment given to her by the Young Master himself once they picked him up at the main house – although the younger sounded more breathless, in which Tanaka snickered silently. Tanaka remembered Seto Kaiba opening the door for her, as though he never slammed it to her face once, and holding out a hand for her. He actually invited her to hook her arm around his in a gentlemanly manner before they walked side by side into the five star hotel where the party was taking.

Tanaka remembered looking at their backs proudly. He remembered thinking it was cute.

If only he knew better, he would've stopped them.

That night of the birthday party, the Young Master and his assistant spent the night at the hotel. Tanaka didn't think much about it because the party lasted until late at night and most of the guests spent the night there in the end. The two went to the car the morning after laughing and smiling at each other. But that was not the problem; the problem was on the hand Seto Kaiba had around her lower back or how they ended up sitting so closely to one another while whispering secrets. If Tanaka was allowed to have a say in it, he'd say it seemed like they were cuddling.

But he ignored that thought. Seto Kaiba was only fifteen, clearly underaged, and Ms. Saki was twenty seven. Besides, Ms. Saki was probably the first friend Seto Kaiba ever made. Tanaka believed that the young man saw a mother figure in her if not a sister.

Then again, Tanaka kept on witnessing cues. Sinve that day Ms. Saki started moving from her seat across the Young Master in the back of the mini limousine to the spot right next to him. The back and forth remarks were also replaced with soft murmurs as they sat side by side. One time, Tanaka even caught The Young Master landing his hand on top of his assistant's leg quite intimately.

They also started spending more nights at hotels. Usually, The Young Master would opted for his home than sleeping out somewhere. But nowadays he would almost always spend the night out even when the event didn't even last till midnight. Along with him, of course, Saki Ono also spent the night.

Tanaka tried to think positively – that maybe the assistant reserved her own room – that maybe they were just too close that it was easy to misunderstand – that maybe he was just too old to understand how the younger generations behave with their friends nowadays. But then it happened.

One day, a female student was caught stealing a kiss from the Young Master by the front gate of his school right when his ride arrived. Even though she witnessed this, Ms. Saki didn't seem to comment on it. She did, however, acted more affectionate with him in the car as though assuring her status.

The next day when they took the Young Master to school, she actually commit her first mistake – and it was probably the mistake that would mess with her life.

When Seto Kaiba just got out of the car, the woman grabbed his arm and pulled him slightly till he bent to her level. She poked out her head and stole a deep searing kiss, right under the eyes of the students who just arrived at the school gate that day. The Young Master seemed clueless to what the kiss implied, he was too inexperienced to understand women's jealousy and possessiveness. Tanaka knew, however; and he couldn't withstand the rage that he felt toward the woman who sat with him in the same car.

Tanaka drove the car around before stopping somewhere less crowded. He turned around and, with a threatening figure he hadn't used since that time he confronted the reporter who stalked Ms. Kisara, faced Saki Ono. The woman looked terribly alone; but that didn't temper Tanaka's wrath.

"Do you know how harmful your action would be to The Young Master's well-being, Ms. Ono?" He growled in the kind of voice he hadn't heard for awhile from his own mouth. The addressed woman didn't look at him; her eyes wandered to the view outside instead as though she was reminiscing.

"Your action could tarnish the Young Master's name, in the safe haven of his own school in fact!" His tone rose, "I've kept my silence long enough, Ms. Ono. And if only you've kept yours, everything will be fine!"

"If his family get ahold of this, God help you, Ms. Ono," he hissed, "Your whole future – No. _You_ will be ruined".

Tanaka turned around to face the wheel. He took a deep breath before turning the engine on. The man meant to start driving again, but he was disrupted by the woman's shaky but clear voice.

"He sees me for what I am".

Tanaka paused to see her through the backseat mirror. She still wasn't looking at his direction. But, despite how frail she looked now, she also seemed braver than ever. This was her coming clear to herself and to confess. There would be none but honesty here and on.

"He understands me," she continued, this time returning Tanaka's gaze through the mirror before she looked faraway yet again. "Since I was a child, Mr. Tanaka, I've always been so bright. Top of my class, winning competitions here and there – but I was also unfortunate".

"My father was an alcoholic who neglected my mother. My mother, in her desperation, took different men home," she paused, "She hit me sometimes. Many times. Called me names and blamed me for her misfortune. But I held on, Mr. Tanaka, because I believe one day someone will see me for myself – that I was meant for something better".

"Maybe I should've achieved all that, if only that rich kid didn't bribe the school to push me down from first place to second in the yearly examination result. Maybe I should've achieved all that if only the day of the National Science Olympic a bunch of Yakuza didn't wreck my house so that the district where I lived didn't have to send the second place to replace me. Maybe if I don't have a suicidal mom I wouldn't have to score poorly on the test for a scholarship to Tokyo University. Maybe then I didn't have to go to a local university, where I still have to balance three jobs and school to pay for myself, my cheap tuition, my ill mother, and the debt my Father owed to the Yakuza".

"And Naoki, he -," she paused, "a desperate choice. He's a banker with a simple life, a man whose name you might've never heard about. He's kind to me and he's willing to save me from my debt. I care for him but I… never felt the connection with him".

So she had a person, somewhere out there, that might be thinking she was loyal to him and him only. Tanaka sighed. Things were getting complicated.

"You may see me less of a woman, Mr. Tanaka, but I care for that boy. Seto is the only man that I felt such a connection to. He's the only man that could make me feel like myself -"

"A boy," Tanaka disrupted, "He's only fifteen going on sixteen, I remind you. Not a man". The chauffeur sighed, "You've started this yourself. I can no longer protect you two if this ever get to his family".

They sunk into a very tense silence.

* * *

It didn't take long. Tanaka just drove the assistant to Kaiba Corp's headquarter when he received a phone call. All he heard was a calm, "Tanaka," and the chauffeur instantly knew.

It was the former Mrs. Kaiba herself.

"Tell me all you know," she ordered elegantly, but the venom in her voice was sound. Despite Tanaka's loyalty to the Young Master, he could never deny his former employer. So Tanaka told her everything – from the day Seto Kaiba met Saki Ono to the event that took place earlier that day.

The day after, Tanaka was informed that the Young Master wouldn't be going to school. The chauffeur hadn't seen anything happening inside the main house, but he sure heard things from the servants.

"I heard it already reached Ms. Kisara"; "Mr. Gozaburo is very disappointed"; "There's an investigation going on for awhile by Ms. Kisara. There's pictures evidence and everything"; "the school contacted the Master yesterday, saying that there's an incident right outside of school".

And Tanaka was convinced, his former employer had been suspicious all along. The report from school simply solidified her suspicions. The next day, Tanaka heard the worst news from the servants.

"The Great Mistress has found out".

Great Mistress. She had long left her throne as the official leader of The Kaiba's fortune, but she was still a name that could haunt every member of the Kaiba family. She is Gozaburo Kaiba's mother and the former leader of the Kaiba household; Izumi Kaiba.

The old lady had spent her retirement in New Zealand with some of the most loyal and capable servants the Kaiba ever have. She was known to be cunning, influential, and very much intimidating that even Gozaburo Kaiba would cower to her feet. In fact, the only reason Ms. Kisara would gladly step back from her parenting right toward her son was because the infamous antagonism she had with the old Kaiba matriarch. After all, Izumi Kaiba was rumored to not hesitate on using any means to achieve her goals; even murder.

No wonder Mr. Gozaburo seemed pale when he and his oldest son was ordered to visit New Zealand for an imperative family meeting. Tanaka remembered seeing his Young Master's expressionless face as he sat in the back seat of the car on their way to the airport. He seemed lifeless and, Tanaka noted, depressed.

Who wouldn't be? Every achievements he ever done was casted aside for this latest scandal. Even the school had now pointed fingers at him for committing something so unsightly by the school ground - doing sexual act with a grown woman. The whole family was busy taking care of the scandal so that it wouldn't reach the media nor the public. All these, because of a teen's clueless action and an adult woman brashness.

Tanaka hadn't even seen Saki Ono in all this. When he thought about it, he hadn't seen her since he dropped her at the Kaiba's main office. She was either on the run or she was ordered to by the Kaiba's. Whatever happened to her, it was better for her not to show herself anywhere near. She was a legal adult dating the Kaiba's underaged heir who dared to tarnish his name on his own school. Forget the fact that it was illegal; what she'd done was practically an insult to the Kaiba elders.

And the Kaibas do not forgive easily.

And Tanaka wondered if Seto Kaiba truly loved that woman, if it was mere curiosity or teenage foolishness, or if Seto Kaiba would chase her like a true Kaiba would to their utmost desire despite everyone's disagreement. He wondered if Seto Kaiba and Saki Ono could ever be a thing if only they both waited till he's of age or if she wasn't married. Last but not least, he also wondered if Seto Kaiba was truly heartbroken, would it be for the lost of her or the lost of his family's trust in him.

No one truly knew what Seto Kaiba was thinking. All Tanaka knew, after Seto Kaiba returned from New Zealand, the Young Master was stripped from his position in Kaiba Corp. and was told to transfer from the only home he ever knew to a small town he never knew existed until now. This was all done to put a distance between Seto Kaiba and the scandal while the family worked to keep the scandal away from the public's knowledge.

Tanaka, being the only familiar face the younger Kaiba was allowed to take with him to Domino, watches on as Seto Kaiba reverted to his distant and lifeless self – the exact reenactment of himself right after his mother left. He would lock himself in his room after school and would ask for his dinner to be sent to his room. To have everything you've grown used to – the place you called home and the passion you've long fought for – taken from you could do that to anyone.

"What kind of a woman is the Great Mistress?" Tanaka found himself asking Amy Dunn. Amy, who was in the middle of sipping her favorite order of Starbucks, tilted an eyebrow curiously.

"Why are you asking?"

"Just curious," Not everyone, especially not a chauffeur, had the chance to ever meet the elderly Kaiba. Tanaka usually couldn't care less, but after witnessing the changes that had taken place in the Kaiba household in the last one year, one would wonder. "For a woman who is said to put family first, she sure did a good one on her grandson".

Amy Dunn sighed, "Well, you sure know nothing about her like I do".

Amy Dunn was the second assistant of Seto Kaiba; handpicked by and directly responsible to Izumi Kaiba. She was a Harvard graduate with a record in International Judo tournament and an experience working with the Great Mistress herself. She was carefully chosen not to repeat the same mistake as Saki Ono, but seeing that Amy had two failed marriage at the age of thirty-five, it was least likely that she would.

Born American, the woman does not have the timid attitude nor the petite stature of a Japanese woman. Compared to Saki Ono, who had a warm and sweet air, Amy is opinionated and hot-headed. Thus, she does not shy away from admitting that her best interest lies on The Great Mistress, not Seto Kaiba.

Tanaka did not worry that Amy Dunn would be Saki Ono The Second; but he had his suspicions that Amy was sent to his Young Master only to further punish him and restrict his movements.

"Do not look at me like we are the enemy," Amy uttered coolly, "Why do you think the company hold the Tokyo Tournament in the first place?" The woman waved the envelope that contained the invitation letter for Seto Kaiba to participate in a duel monsters tournament in Tokyo. It was labeled with Kaiba Corp's infamous logo, signing that it was the Kaiba Corp's first official tournament.

Kaiba Corp had yet to launch it's own official tournament until this tournament in Tokyo. It was all a bit sudden too. It took place only months after the Young Master's transfer to Domino and lasted for two weeks.

Amy smiled knowingly. "Kaiba Corp's core product has always been more than just duel monsters. And amongst these products, Gozaburo Kaiba cared for duel monsters the least. So who else do you think pushed this idea to reality when the main promotor of Duel Monsters is not even in the headquarters?"

"Are you trying you tell me the Great Mistress proposed this?"

"She worries for her oldest grandson," Amy disrupted, "She wants this event to be a reminder to Seto that his idea is still very much alive in the company even while he is absent. The Great Mistress really wants him to cheer up". She shrugged, "It's really difficult to prepare all this in a short period, you know? The Great Mistress technically enslaved everyone".

Amy's lack of honorary toward the Young Master used to tick Tanaka off, but right then it made her seem so genuine that Tanaka found it hard to dismiss her argument.

"This transfer is not a punishment. The Mistress simply wishes for her grandson to have a life away from the complicated ways of the family business – to be a normal kid. He's the Mistress favorite grandson after all," Amy Dunn added, "Who knows? Maybe in Domino he'd find someone who is a complete opposite of Saki Ono that he could love".

Who knows? Tanaka though to himself as he drove to the Domino High to pick up his Young Master. He wished for his Young Master to get over Saki Ono and his lost of power, but would it be that easy? Even now, in the car's compartment, right next to the tournament invitation letter that Tanaka meant to give his Young Master today, there was a crumpled picture of Saki Ono – smiling alongside her equally cheerful husband, Naoki, and their 5 year old son, Tetsu. Tanaka found the photo in the back seat of the car in a tragic condition; probably left by the Young Master himself. Tanaka still didn't have the heart to throw the picture away.

He really should throw it away soon though.

Tanaka sighed. This much thinking and reminiscing made Tanaka want to smoke. He decided to park a distance away from school and took a drag while he waited for the Young Master to contact him. Before stepping out, he opened the compartment box and took a cigarette from the pack he just bought. He realized it's better to take the invitation letter with him so he could hand it right away to the Young Master so he took that with him too.

Then his hand hovered on top of the crumpled picture of Saki Ono. Should he or should he not?

"I should," he reminded himself with a heavy sigh, "Those two were never meant to be together".

He took the picture along too. However, in his hurry to leave the car, he accidentally dropped both invitation letter and the picture. Both objects were blown by the wind that it dragged further and further away on the road until they stopped at the feet of a young teenager.

"Sorry, those are-," Tanaka's eyes followed the slender hand that reached down to take the letter and the picture to find the face of an attractive looking boy. He has the wildest looking hairstyle and the sharpest looking eyes. Despite the look, he has a rather elegant and beautiful air about him that Tanaka couldn't look away.

"These are yours?" The teen asked after picking up both items. He eyed both objects and seemed to be interested on the invitation letter. Tanaka got ahold of himself.

"Ah, yes. I planned to give that to the Young Master," he informed the teen. The boy flicked a glance toward Tanaka from behind the enveloped invitation letter and smirked.

"You're Kaiba's employer, I presume?" he approached Tanaka, "He's the only one in this town who'd have the privilege to be invited to official tournaments".

So the teen had a bit of knowledge about duel monsters and understood the implication of what was written outside the envelope of the invitation letter. Tanaka nodded as the teen handed out the letter and the picture toward Tanaka.

"I'm surprised to know that another teenager in this town shared the same hobby as the Young Master," Tanaka said goodnaturedly as he took the letter from the other's hand. The teen seemed to be the same age as the Young Master too because he had Domino High uniform on.

"There is more of us actually. is popular in this town," the teen smiled, "Lucky guy to get the invitation. I'm planning to participate in official tournaments too".

Tanaka smiled, "Then you are my Young Master's future opponent. Who knows, maybe we'll meet in the finals of Kaiba Corp's first official tournament".

There's a spark in the boy's eyes that breached between curiosity and challenge before he lifted his chin in such confidence that could only be rivaled by Seto Kaiba himself. "Sure!" The teen smirked at Tanaka. The way he said that sound like a premonition that Tanaka didn't even find it funny. The older man nodded and made his way to lock the car.

"Uh, your forgot your picture," the teen said. Tanaka turned to the other. Sure enough, the teen had Saki Ono's family picture in his hand.

"Oh, I was planning to throw that away," Tanaka laughed in a way to tell the boy that he forgot about the object. The teen tilted his head slightly.

"Really?"

"Yes. I was planning to throw it there," he pointed at the rubbish bin not far behind the boy, "Too bad this old man lost his grip on the way".

Well he's not that old – only 50. But he hoped the boy catch his drift.

The teen eyed the picture thoughtfully, but ended up shrugging. "Okay," the teen turned around and approached the rubbish bin. Tanaka somehow thought the boy planned to take the picture for himself.

"Oi, w-what are you doing?"

The teen stopped by the rubbish bin and tilted his head toward Tanaka. "I thought you wanted to throw it away?" He crumpled the Saki Ono's picture in one hand and dropped it into the bin. Tanaka froze. To think that this stranger could easily threw away the picture of someone who had thrown Seto Kaiba's life around, what kind of power does he hokd?

But then Tanaka didn't feel like he had done something bad. No, this was something right. He felt like he had just witnessed a momentous event; a premonition of some sort.

"A-ah, yes," he coughed to sayt it more confidently, "Yes, I've wanted to throw it away all along".

The teen shrugged and walked ahead to where he came from. "Wait!" Tanaka called, "What's your name?"

The teen looked back and smiled, "Mutou. Yami Mutou".

Tanaka nodded, somehow feeling like he would hear more of that name. Yami Mutou, in the meanwhile, returned to school only to be scolded from trying to go home early and skip the student council meeting.

"I don't know why I did that! I never skipped before. I feel like it's a calling from above," he defended himself. The Student Council Secretary couldn't accept such outrageous reason.

"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT'S A CALLING FROM ABOVE, MUTOU? DON'T GIVE ME THAT POETIC DESTINY-ASS-SHIT WHEN YOU PROMISED TO HELP ME CLEAN THE COUNCIL MEETING ROOM THEN LEFT! DO YOU KNOW THEY SAID THIS PLACE IS HAUNTED?"

"S-sorry…"

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **I know this chapter smelled like an upcoming drama. But I promise you this is mainly fluffy. And... happy belated new year!**


	6. Yami's Bruise

YAMI'S BRUISE

* * *

Seto would sometime roam his eyes over Yami's head to read what the other boy was having in his mind. You see, it's easy to misunderstood the Mutous. It's probably their bold appearance; or maybe because they both like wearing leather; or maybe because Yugi always seemed open yet secretive and Yami always carries himself with such confidence – all of those, made people think they would be promiscuous and untamed. Of course with Yugi, you'd dismiss these thoughts once you talked to him (the kid is tangibly timid and naïve) – but with Yami and his bold personality, you'd find rumors tailing around. It does not matter if no one ever caught him doing something indecent; people would always thought he had gone adventurous with a couple of girls, especially with that Gardner girl. Oh boy, if only they knew which Mutou the Gardner girl was truly dating.

Then again, now that Seto thought of it, he kind of expected Yami to hardcore seduce him right after they officially dated. He was prepared to have Yami tackle him to the ground in a surprise-attack after his confession and Seto had planned to resist; because Seto would rather have the pace of the relationship under his terms. If Yami wanted to challenge that, Seto would face him head on.

But that did not happen.

For a while, Seto still had himself warily watching the back of Yami's head and wondered when the other boy would seduce him. Yet, after a number hints and moves toward that boy, Seto realized that maybe… Yami was not the untamable fire people made him to be.

It took a while for Seto to piece it together. He was even suspicious that Yami was planning something after the numerous sweet gesture he directed toward Seto. Yami would call him in the middle of the night because he wants to listen to Seto's breath while they fell asleep; Yami would slip the word 'cute' when he saw Seto – a compliment that Seto had never expected from anyone considering he sees himself as 'cool' than 'cute - ;and there were the moments Yami insists hey hold hands. He admitted that Yami's innocent gestures affected him more than he liked them to; in fact, he adores Yami's treatments, he'll gave the other boy that. But back then Seto was convinced Yami planned to lower his guard before pulling a move; thus brushing it off as a trap.

Then came that day when they sat in Seto's study to build their deck. It was less than two weeks before another tournament and there was tension between them. They had been spending time sitting a distance away from one another while they both had their decks in hand. Hey, they might like one another, but they wouldn't be all buddy-buddy on a competition.

Till that day, they had yet to show their full deck to the other. They wanted too, but they expected the other to take the first step. Pride gets in the way sometimes; and it was obvious from the glare Yami sent to Seto from behind his cards as though saying, "I'm your boyfriend; how could you not show you deck to me?" And Seto would stare back as if to say, "I'm avenging my loss; boyfriend or not".

The message was clear; they were rivals first and lovers second.

Yami was pulling a frown from the seat right across to Seto. Seto himself sat on the seat behind the desk; skimming through his cards and switching a couple of traps with another card. And then, in the middle of scouring through his cards, Yami perked up and said rather spontaneously, "See this. It's cute," while offeeing a card to Seto.

The silence that came after was instant. Yami looked surprised at his own reaction; to think that he would be the first to open his card to Seto was a bit embarrassing. Seto was surprised too. He expected himself to scoff if one of them ever expose their deck; but Yami's gesture made his heart flutter instead. And that was weird; Seto Kaiba does not do that puppy love cliché.

The card Yami pulled up was a fusion card called Dark Magician Girl The Dragon Knight. It has the picture of Dark Magician Girl; a card that was somehow dubbed Yami's signature monster even though he had only used it once in the last tournament; on a dragon. Obviously, it's a fusion between the prior and any dragon monster card.

Yami pulled a face that he rarely showed on others; pursed lips, one winked eye and an arched eyebrow; as he put his words together. "Cute huh?"

"What makes you think it's cute?" Seto replied flatly.

Yami seemed disappointed. He returned the card to his deck and huffed, "Well I just thought it portrays us".

Sure, Seto has been known to use dragon based deck. The card had a picture of Dark Magician Girl riding a dragon; which Seto took as a teasing material. "I bet you wouldn't mind riding my blue eyes". Sure, they have yet to discuss sex, which Seto had thought of a lot lately. Of course in gay relationships, one would be expected to switch roles in bed. However, Seto was really shooting for Yami to give up the top position first.

Yami shrugged as he skimmed through his cards. "That would be awesome," he answered absently. Seto snapped back to Yami. Really?

The shorter teen noticed Seto's bewildered look and felt even more awkward. "What?" The shorter asked. When Seto kept his silence, Yami sputtered to defend his opinion, "It's big and regal!"

If Yami was trying to be a tease, then he had used the wrong expression (though, admittedly, the exclaim had been 100% on the point). Seto thought the day they will start hinting about sex would be the day Yami stopped acting like a hopeless romantic and started uncovering his wilder persona. But here he was, looking all confused and embarrassed. So Seto curiously (and hopefully) pressed on, "You think it's big and regal?"

"Well, yeah. I mean it looks good on the duel disk, but on the arena it looks majestic".

"… you're talking about my card".

Yami glanced sideways before looking back at his boyfriend, "What else should we be talking about?"

'Oh, I don't know, you allowing my dick inside your ass?' Was what Seto wanted to say. But Yami pulled that innocent gaze so tremendously that Seto almost believed he honestly had no idea what they were talking about. It made Seto feel uncool somehow, because he really was losing it!

"Fine," Seto huffed, _if that's the game you want to play._ Yami had the gal to look confused.

* * *

A couple of days went by and Seto noted that the rivalry was getting stronger between them. It has gotten to the point where they avoid talking about spare times as to not bring up the fact that they would be training and build a better deck to defeat one another. They skipped phone calls and, worse, kissing.

Along with the rise of competitiveness between them; Seto also felt the rise of sexual tension from his end. The distance between them was making him a bit frustrated. They had only dated for a month, sure; but Seto was used to a relationship where kisses are casual and romancing was skipped for the sex. They called his past relationship a mistake, but Seto wouldn't take it back nor regret it. He likes sex; it's almost a passion for him – beside winning and duel monsters that is.

Even then, he could still be a gentleman and play along with Yami's push-and-pull game. Seto felt stupid that he hadn't properly frenched the other boy; he hadn't even necked Yami yet (and the other boy's neck was Seto's favorite part of his body)! Their make-out session was always cut short somehow, mostly by Yami; and Seto was convinced the guy was building this tension purposefully to make Seto lose his cool.

The only reason Seto doubted his own suspicion was that incident at the school rooftop. He and Yami were meeting after lunch as usual when Yami brought up gym class earlier that day. "Everyone noted that I have two holes on my lower back – like, right on top of my butt," the guy shared, "Tristan laughed and made fun of it. I'm sure Joey will make fun of it soon too".

Seto turned to his boyfriend and pulled his cancer stick out of his mouth. His brows met. "You mean you have dimples on your behind".

Yami shrugged in the dismissive manner Seto often caught him whenever Seto tried to drop an innuendo. "I guess you could say that. They do look like dimples," the shorter guy admitted.

Seto landed his gaze on top of Yami's forehead. He wondered if kissing it would transfer Yami's thoughts into his mind; for right now, he was curious if Yami was trying to egg him on or if this was all a casual discussion. Seto was attracted to those dimples – or Apollo dimples, as known popularly. He had a collection of shots taken on both men and women's back, all with these dimples on their body, in his laptop. Simply put, if Yami was flirting, then he had made a huge move against Seto.

"But it's kind of weird to think you can have dimples down there," Yami continued, "Or anywhere else but your face, right?"

"It's not weird," Seto took a slow drag from his cigarette, "The attraction of those dimples has been acknowledged since the days of Michelangelo. It's a trait considered to be," he paused, "sensual".

Something flashed in Yami's eyes for a split second; something heated; but it's gone by the next second. "I guess," Yami agreed after staring at Seto for a long minute.

Seto took one last drag from his cigarette. He then scrunched the cigarette butt to the ground. "You know, they said that people with those dimples reach orgasm easier," Seto told the other.

"Are you saying I'm early?" Yami half grunted and eyed Seto head on. They both were merely an inch away now, nose almost touching.

"I'm saying it could ease taking it in the back," Seto noted, "It would be less painful for you, probably". If Yami got angered because Seto practically told him to bottom first, then let him be. He's the one to bring up the dimples.

Instead of anger, all Yami said was, "Taking what in the back?"

 _Really? He still wants to play this game,_ Seto thought. Whatever, Seto was sick of playing dumb. If Yami thought Seto would give up topping for their first time with this trick, he was mistaken.

Seto zeroed into the side of Yami's neck and nuzzled, only to have Yami struggling and, surprise surprise, cackling. "Cut it out! That tickles!" The tricolor haired teen exclaimed before having a fit of laughter.

Seto stopped to have a good look at the other. Who the fuck would laugh in the middle of petting? The only kind who would giggle in situations like this are...

Virgins.

* * *

Was it possible, Seto wondered, for the Yami Mutou people speculated as a flirt to actually be a virgin?

Seto found himself observing the top of his lover's head more often to read what he's thinking. The moment Yami seemed to drop a hint, Seto would hesitate; calculating if it was meant to be innocent or a provocation. He now realized that Yami had always put a stop before their intimate contact became too intense. Their kisses were short and touches were kept at a minimum. All these times, Seto thought Yami's restraint was a trick. But it may not be restraint at all.

It might be… cluelessness.

If that was the case, then maybe Seto shouldn't have kissed the guy when he asked him out. Not that Yami protested, but his kisses felt rather vanilla for Seto's liking.

Seto watches on as Yami craned his head to the right and massaged the back of his neck. It was three days before they would leave the town for the tournament, and here they were; sitting on the rooftop after school. They just discussed about preparations for their travel and had settled that Yami should spend the night over at Seto's place before their leave.

Something instantly came up to Seto's mind; one of them of worrying if Yami'd find out about the deck Seto especially built to defeat him once he spend the night over; the other being if spending the night over would mean making out on Seto's bed; then came the question if Yami even _knew_ how to do those stuff. So Seto shoot the question.

"Let me ask you something," Seto started, only continuing once he was sure he had his boyfriend's attention, "Have you ever dated that Gardner girl?"

Yami was in the middle of texting. His face animatedly changed from concentration, to disgust, to confusion. He answered slowly, not taking his eyes off the phone, "…no. That's like… dating Aibou. Do we seem like we are?"

God, no. "People think you guys are". And they are betting if they'd be wild enough to steal your attention, was what Seto wanted to add, buy didn't.

"Obviously they knew nothing," Yami hissed at his phone; fingers kept its wild rhythmic tapping on his mobile. In exchange, he missed the heavy gaze Seto grazed the side of his head.

"I take it you've never dated anyone before me," Seto said again. Yami took a couple of seconds too long to pause. When he did, his head turned toward his boyfriend slowly. "Yes," when he caught on to Seto's strange look, he added, "What?"

"You're a virgin".

They both stared for a full ten seconds – all the while, Seto's heart sped up to a mile a minute. There's something empowering in forcing the older Mutou to reveal his V card. The moment Yami bent down his head, looking more unsure than ever, Seto felt like he had stripped the guy out of his confidence.

"I am," was the short answer, followed with a glance toward Seto's way. There's vulnerability in that stare that made Seto's pride soar. It could be the idea that he's the one with more knowledge between them; or maybe it was the idea that he had heard a dirty little secret; but most likely it was because Yami Mutou was untouched, and his innocence is now in Seto's hands.

"And you?" Yami continued. His tone was laced with accusation. At this point, you'd knew Yami recognized the gap between him and his boyfriend; and it was a gap that made him feel isolated and inadequate. "For someone so young, you sure seem experienced," he told Seto. The fact that Seto acted so calm unsettle the shorter even more.

"How do you define 'experienced'?" Seto asked distractedly.

"You tongued my lips and stuff".

"That's called trying to properly kiss you, moron," Seto growled.

"So you are experienced," it was a question.

Seto shrugged, "Maybe I am".

Yami was then looking at his lover like he had seen a ghost. They were of the same age; but now it felt as though Seto was way older. "And now you're scared of me," Seto was the one to accuse now. Yami scowled.

"I'm not scared of you!" Yami growled, only to glue himself closer to the wall he's leaning to when Seto suddenly shortened the distance between their faces. The shorter eyed between Seto's lips and blue eyes. He gulped, but forced himself to repeat his conviction, "I'm not".

Seto teased him with a doubtful look before pecking the other boy on the lips. When he finally left the other's lips alone, he stared hotly at Yami's eyes and smirked mockingly. "Prove it".

"You're getting cocky for something as silly as virginity," Yami rebuked.

"And you're strangely defensive for something as innocent as a kiss," Seto countered and shorten their distance once again to provoke the other, "We haven't even french-ed yet".

Silence.

"Let me tongue you," Seto whispered softly.

Yami tch-ed, "Fine".

"Do not push me away this time," Seto warned. Yami said nothing, but he didn't evade the brunette. So Seto slowly landed a hand on the side of the other's arm and leaned for a soft kiss. When he let go, it was to look at Yami in the eye, "Good?"

He didn't wait for an answer and instead let four of his right hand fingers touched the side of Yami's face while the thumb was used to part Yami's lips. He leaned closer, mouth open and ready to taste the other. He licked the roof of Yami's mouth; tasting the embarassment and temptation in Yami. He pulled out of the crevice for a second, only to return with full fervor. He let his arms roam around until he maintain a secure hold around the smaller body; so that Yami understood just how strong his desire truly is. And Seto felt a desperate hand clenching the front of his school uniform. Seto left Yami's lips once in a while, just so that Yami could breathe and calm down.

Then Seto's cold fingers grazed Yami's left ears and massaged it. Yami leaned away a bit for he felt a bit too tingly all over and Seto's ticklish rubbing on his ear didn't help him calm down. Seto gave the other's lips one last kiss before he took a good look on the other's flushed face and plunged to nuzzle the right side of the neck he had long adored. He took a long sniff at it and lapped his tongue on the warm skin. The brunette was not discouraged when he felt Yami tensed up and a hand was gripping Seto's hand so tightly it hurts.

Seto gave a bite on the spot right under the ear and sucked lightly. Yami flinched and Seto knew he heard a sharp gasp. Seto felt like leaning all his weights on the other; for the sensation of pinning the untouchable Yami Mutou and making him react however Seto wanted were so thrilling.

Seto finally let go after making sure the neck was thoroughly kissed. He smirked cockily at Yami's way and felt like tapping playfully at the other's red face. "If only you could have a look at your face," the brunette chuckled at Yami. "My hand, if you don't mind," Seto added and tugged lightly on his right hand that was still stuck under Yami's death grip. Yami let it go absently.

Seto chuckled once more. _Virgins_ , he thought affectionately. So Yami truly was the typical goody-two-shoes from a small town; the type who'd focus on school and not think much of anything else. It's hard to believe those types really exist for Seto had long fooled people with the same front. Having a real one by his side was rather... endearing.

Seto decided he'd have another smoke while he waited for Yami to collect himself. Poor boy seemed a bit lost. Seto hoped he atleast gets the drift that Seto could take care of his virginity nicely - as long as Yami hands it to him of course.

At least Seto was gentleman enough to send Yami home. Tanaka sent the tricolor haired teen a worried gaze when the latter forgot to answer his greeting. "He's tired," Seto explained; smirking proudly at the bruise he made under Yami's right ear.

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **Doesn't feel like it came out right. What do you think?**


	7. The Lover's Rivalry

NOTES

1\. This chapter was posted in AO3 days (or a week) before posted here because some technical issue. Nothing big though, so I'll be able to crosspost as usual.

2\. Poor editing ahead!

* * *

THE LOVER'S RIVALRY

* * *

You see, the first time Koji Nagumo found out that his employer, the infamous Seto Kaiba, was capable of paying attention to any other human beside his younger brother was that time when Amy Dunn – the super intelligent foreign woman who loves drinking to the point of spilling the embarrassing details of her failed marriage – came out from the study that beautiful morning to face Koji in the kitchen. She looked bewildered and afraid at the same time that Koji hesitated to ask her what's wrong. She might have pulled an all-nighter and was simply asking for coffee; or she was high (or drunk); or she had finished that secret call she often does with a mysterious person she dubbedMistress(which was interesting considering she never even addressed her employer, Seto Kaiba, with a proper title).

Koji might look like the local thug (and he used to be), but he has been the Kaiba's cook for a while (don't be surprised, Koji's family runs the local diner). Thus he knew enough to fear Amy Dunn when she was acting strange. The lady could break a coffee table into two.

"Mr. Tanaka just called me," she said stiffly, "He said Seto took the guy who defeated him at the last tournament into the car," she paused, "By the sound of it, the guy is not willing".

Koji blinked. The tournament that had finished a couple of days ago? Sure, the Young Master had lost, but to meet the first winner after a short time? "Wow, wait. Are you saying the first place winner is in this town?"

She ignored him and took out her phone from her cardigan's pocket. This was not the Amy Dunn who would drag Koji and Mr. Tanaka to a drinking game until the wee hours of the night. This was the Amy Dunn who was Seto Kaiba's personal assistant; and she's dead serious. "I haven't been able to reach Mr. Tanaka ever since," she already dialed for the chauffeur.

"How about you call the Young Master and I call Mr. Tanaka?" Koji suggested hurriedly. He didn't know why Amy acted like this was serious – which made him nervous in return. All he knew, teenage boys often feel like fighting another teen just for the fun of it. Most of the time, it's harmless. Seto Kaiba may not look like the type who would get into a brawl; but who knew?

Yet the expression on Amy's face told Koji someone was going to die… literally.

They were listening on the dial tone for a full minute when Amy suddenly said, "Should I call for backup?"

"What backup?"

She turned to him with a harsh glance. "I've tracked them," Amy confessed silently, "They're going to an isolated area out of town".

Koji's brows furrowed, "And?"

"And," Amy put an emphasis on her words, "Know that if any damages were done, my priority would be to protect the family".

"You're saying it like he's planning something really twisted all because he lost a game to a guy," Koji replied. But Amy didn't flinch. Koji blinked, "You're kidding me right? What is he capable of? He's a kid! The worst he'd do is punch the guy! And what are you Kaiba employees capable of doing? You guys are hired to… what, hide a dead body?"

The way she looked away reminded Koji that she is a trusted employee of The Kaiba's. There are times Koji felt like she was a good friend; yet sometimes, especially when he caught her in a phone call withMistress,she felt like another person altogether. And Isono Tanaka, despite being a chauffeur, was the type of a man who hides a number of weapons in his room and brought a gun with him everywhere he went. The chauffeur was the type he and Amy jokingly called Rolland; for that would make him fitting for a western espionage movie scene.

And here was Koji, who used to be a jobless 26 year old with a hobby for cooking. He never knew when he gave that cooking job on a flyer a chance that he would be working for a Kaiba. Domino was a peaceful place where everyone knew each other; so he didn't expect to see the infamous Seto Kaiba there let alone knew how to serve him like a true Kaiba employee. What is expected of him now that he is a part of this family? Amy and Mr. Tanaka acted like they were ready to give their lives for The Kaiba heir. And somehow… that sentiment was contagious.

Before Koji was given the chance to decide, the front door opened with a soft click; surprising both Koji and Amy. Seto Kaiba entered with his usual brisk yet flowy pace. His hair was a bit ruffled, but it didn't diminish his composed handsome features. Not that Koji failed to notice the fury that seemed to be seething under his visage.

"Seto!" Amy exclaimed in alarm, "What did you do?"

The Young Master blatantly ignored her and made his way upstairs. Amy wouldn't let him off the hook easily. She grabbed his arm, "Tell me what you've done!"

Mr. Tanaka entered right then, but kept his presence unnoticed. The Young Master snapped his head at Amy and glared. "None of your business, woman!"

"We both know why I'm sent to watch over you! So, Goddamnit, Seto, if you left anything without noticing me, I don't know what I'll do," she was breaching an unknown and restricted territory to Koji. She always knew how to push the teen's button. Mostly, she hinted that Seto Kaiba had done a grave mistake in the past.

Not that Koji knew what that mistake happened to be.

Koji was feeling uncomfortable. He was not there to witness his employer being judged by his guardian.

Amy, however, continued, "Now tell me what you did to that kid after you took him to a middle of nowhere!"

"Nothing!" The Kaiba heir growled. He gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his calm so he could force out his explanation, "I took him out, and we talked". He pulled his arm out of Amy's grasp with brute force, "Then I dropped him by the school. Now let me go".

"Like I'll believe that. You're telling me you didn't even land a punch on him? Do you tjink I'm stupid?" Amy was livid. The Young Master was halfway reaching the stairs when he turned around to answer her.

"I wanted to, but I didn't".

"Pfh, fuck you. You've done worse than that".

Koji noted the teen's clenched fist. "I couldn't," He looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped midway. His fury was changed to hesitation in an instant. "It's his face".

"His face," Amy repeated flatly.

"His face looked like it… never got punched before, so I stopped".

Amy was gaping at the teen. The latter didn't plan to entertain her interrogation any further though. He turned his back on them and resumed his escape with a short, "I'll be in my room", leaving Amy to fume as she prepared for another long rant.

Later on they learned from Mr. Tanaka the Young Master had told exactly as what happened. There was a minor scuffle, he said, but nothing alarming. Koji remembered exchanging confused looks with Amy the whole day – because honestly, why would you push a guy into your car, took him somewhere far and desolate, only to talk?

"Who is this guy that defeated Mr. Kaiba again?" Koji questioned. Amy waved a hand dismissively.

"You wouldn't know him anyway".

* * *

But he did know the guy.

It was when Seto Kaiba surprised them with a short notice that he's inviting the mysterious guy home. It was a first for Seto Kaiba to entertain someone to his house in Domino. Everyone was frantically preparing. Koji was told to prepare a three course western dinner. Ms. Rosie, the old widow hired to clean the house on a daily basis, made sure every inch of the house was pristine. Chiba, the young gardener, was not present for he only works three times a week, but he texted Koji to bid him good luck. Everyone was slightly nervous, for no one knew what kind of man would be able to inflict such strong reactions from the usually cold and aloof Seto Kaiba. The only one who was known to have such power was Mokuba Kaiba.

... Only for them to find the older Mutou stepping inside the Kaiba's home with a polite "Excuse me" as he followed closely behind the head of the house. The hair was a huge giveaway to his identity. Everyone from Domino would recognize that hair.

"Isn't that the older Mutou? The kid from the game shop?" Koji asked Ms. Rosie silently as they peeked from the kitchen that happened to be connected to the foyer area. Their eyes followed the two boys, still in their uniform, going inside the study.

"Oh my! It is! It has been awhile since I last heard from The Mutous. Last I saw them is at Mana's memorial," Ms. Rosie replied.

Mana Mutou, the only daughter of Solomon Mutou who perished in a tomb raid in Egypt when she was only 23. She was known to be a bright girl with some quirks and was as eccentric as her father. She left the elder Mutou with two grandsons though, the boys she had with a man with a strange name she met in Egypt (Ahmad? Mahad?).

It was said that the Mahad guy finally planned to marry her in Egypt, only for them to disappear in the middle of a tomb raid. No one knew what happened to her or the father of her children afterwards. The Mutou's had only broken their silence a couple of years ago. Solomon finally held a funeral for her to come in peace with their lost. It's been years since her disappearance; it was time for everyone to let go.

"Huh," Koji furrowed his eyebrows, "Do you think Mutou was the one to beat The Young Master?" Beside, he's the one happened to be invited inside by the Young Master just now, wasn't he?

"I don't know," Ms. Rosie admitted. They both watched on as the two high school boys appeared in their line of sight through the glasses partition between the hallway and the study. They seemed to be in a civil discussion; in fact they enjoyed their selves.

Koji and Ms. Rosie exchanged a look as though wondering how this youth from their modest town could pull the Young Master out of his shell.

* * *

So imagine Koji's surprise when Amy told him two months later that the two boys were dating.

Koji was in the middle of bringing towels and blankets to the guest room at the time. He dropped the towels to a tray and squinted at the assistant, "You're saying they'd share Mr. Kaiba's room," Koji questioned, "You do realize there's only a queen-sized bed in that room".

Most boys don't enjoy sharing one bed with another guy. Yami Mutou would spend the night at The Kaiba's that night so that he, The Young Master, and Amy Dunn would be able to travel to their next tournament as early as they can the next day. It's rather rude to tell him to sleep with the head of the house when they have an empty guest room sitting idly.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Yes. But they're dating anyway right?"

Koji gawked, "They… are?"

"Have been for awhile. Cute huh?" She strolled through the hallway and stopped to give him a last reminder, "Join us for a chat tonight, would you? You're staying the night after all".

Koji was too dumbfounded to properly digest the invitation. "Sure," he said silently, hurrying to the guest room shortly after.

"Oh my! They've made it official at last!" Ms. Rosie gushed once he told her the news.

"You don't seem surprised".

"Well, if you count the many times they do that thing kids do when they like someone, you wouldn't be surprised. They really couldn't hold back," the middle aged woman chuckled, "It's cute".

Koji's brows met in confusion. He stood witness to lots of those two's exchanges as he was the one to serve them treats when Mutou was over. And Mutou was over plenty of times after that first time. At some point, even the silent Mr. Tanaka called The older Mutou 'Yami' and the ever strict Amy was willing to voice her drunken cackle in front of the teen. The teen became somewhat of a regular member of the Kaiba household in the short course of two months.

So far, Koji had never seen anything remotely romantic between those two. In fact, they low-key argued half of the time (mostly about duel monsters). When they sat face to face, it would be with their backs to their seat as though meaning to put a lot of space between them.

"What thing?" Koji asked Ms. Rosie as he failed to register what she meant.

"That thing under the table! The knee bumping and foot poking they often do," she smiled, "Last time my son did that to a girl, he was trying to ask her out".

Koji blinked stupidly. Surely, the old woman couldn't think people bump knees to flirt? But then again, Koji couldn't imagine intentionally bumping another guy's knee. It was the rule of thumb between men to mind your own business and keep your own space.

So could he really missed something between those two?

Whatever it was, Koji found it hard to keep his eyes off of the boys bumping knees that night after a delicious lobster dinner at The Kaiba's. They were sitting at the living room enjoying Koji's specialty three layered chocolate mousse for dessert. By default, the boys were reserved the only love seat in the room while Amy lounged on the lazy chair and Koji and Mr. Tanaka shared the longest couch. Koji noted that he and Mr. Tanaka kept their distance even though they shared the same seat. The Young Master and Mutou was not rubbing their selves to one another either; but they were certainly sitting too close with such ease. And even though these two had their attentions away from one another; asKaiba was busy texting and Mutou was too immersed in his conversation with Amy to care; their knees bumped – in the most insistent and repetitive ways a pair of knees could get.

Now that he paid so much attention to it, Koji somehow felt ahold of yourself, Koji!He scolded himself,This isn't two boys making out on the couch. This is two boys sitting side by side, so why are you flushing?

"Right Koji?"

Koji perked up, "Huh?"

Amy giggled in a drunken haze, "I said, we've been insisting to call Mr. Tanaka with his first name, but he never lets us," she cocked her head, "Isono doesn't sound so bad".

Mr. Tanaka didn't answer instantly, but when he did he said, "It's Mr. Tanaka".

Amy laughed. "I know, Rolland suits you much better. You're too mysterious to be called Isono". Koji laughed, and Mutou could be heard joining in with his airy laughter next to a smiling Seto Kaiba.

"Rolland kinda fit," the tricolor haired teen said, "Even though you're Japanese. I mean, Mom used to call me with a weird name too. God knows that's the name Mahad gave us, which she ignored to scorn him for not coming when we were born".

It was the first time Koji ever heard about Mana directly from a Mutou in the years of her disappearance. Understandably, it was midnight and everyone was too sleepy to be able to control what they noy might not plan to turn the conversation to this direction too; but it had.

By Amy and Mr. Tanaka's reactions, Koji suspected they had done their research on The Mutou's to understand the circumstances. Amy was the first to gather herself."I'm sorry about your mom," she started, but Mutou waved it off.

"No worries. We've gotten over it a long time ago. It's time for us to start speaking about her normally again, I think," Mutou explained. The mood of the conversation turned somber, but not grim. Seto Kaiba was the first to make a move. He turned in his seat so he could see the side of the other teen's face clearly and landed one arm on the back of the seat.

"What did she call you?" He asked.

Mutou arched an eyebrow, "Do not. The moment I tell you, you'd try saying it and it'll sound ridiculous".

"Try me," Kaiba challenged. The two boys were staring at each other intensely until Mutou opened his mouth.

"It's Atem".

It sounded foreign to everyone in the room. It sounded Arabic, though Koji wasn't sure if Egyptian was rooted from Arabs. A long silence ensued as everyone had a pondering look. They were silently testing the name on their tongue.

"I knew it," Mutou said forlornly, "Just don't. You guys are going to make a poor attempt at saying it to my face".

 _"Atem"._

The Young Master said suddenly; surprising everyone at his perfect pronunciation. Mutou instantly took a good look at his alleged lover. There was a curious smile on his face.

"You've failed tremendously," he snorted; which was a lie, for everyone heard how perfect that was.

"It's perfect and you know it," Seto Kaiba insisted. There was no venom in his exclaim. It sounded too… affectionate.

"Fuck you. I know better ".

"My mom wanted to name me differently too," Seto Kaiba said finally. The conversation seemed to be specifically aimed at the other boy than to everyone in the room, "But Granny wanted her grandchildren to have Japanese name, so she changed it to suit a typical Japanese name".

"I never heard about this from The Mistress," Amy stated. Koji somehow discovered Mistress might be The Young Master's grandmother.

"What was it?" Mutou seemed curious. Seto Kaiba smiled.

"Seth".

Mutou scowled. "There's nothing silly in that name!" Then he chuckled, "Wait, it's the same name. That means she only changed the pronunciation!" Mutou swung his upper torso toward the taller teen, almost looking like he was hugging the other as he smothered his laughter to the brunette's chest, "That's hilarious! How stubborn could your Granny get?"

Stubborn enough to make a woman like Amy Dunn to abide to her call, Koji silently answered. Amy Dunn seemed relaxed though. She even laughed along.

"Boys, it's almost twelve. Come on, go to bed. We have an early flight to catch," Amy reminded after catching the time. Kaiba stood from his seat while Mutou lounged around on the love seat with a lazy smile directed to his lover.

"Be a boyfriend and take me to my room," he told the taller teen. Kaiba looked down at his lover.

"What're you talking about? You're going to my room".

Mutou paused. "Where are you sleeping then?"

Kaiba gave him a deadpanned look. "My room".

"What? We're sharing the bed?"

"Duhh," The Kaiba heir made his way out of the room; expecting the other boy to follow, "It's not like we'll be doing anything but sleep. C'mon". Meanwhile Mutou was looking at his boyfriend's back with a look of wander, curiosity, and doubt at the same time.

Amy chuckled at the shorter boy's behavior. "What to worry about? You guys are dating,"

The boy glanced at Amy skeptically. Seto Kaiba poked his head into the living room at that exact moment. "What are you waiting for?" He shot rather rudely, to which Mitou huffed to gain his cool and stood up.

"Fine," the shorter teen muttered. He approached the other with his head high; definitely facing the unknown with his pride intact.

As he watched the two boys going upstairs, Koji wondered what to think after what he witnessed. Seto Kaiba truly doesn't mind the other's proximity. In fact, it seemed like he cherishes it. The way he let the other almost hug him in front of other people and invited him to his bed were definitely something. Mutou seemed surprised at the other's boldness though. Not strange at all; most teenagers in Domino are very sheltered and well-mannered. Even the bullies never went too far. As an ex-bully himself, Koji knew this for sure (He even became a cook for God's sake). And because of that, Mutou would feel inadequate and unsure about a lot of things his lover brought to the table.

"Well, I'll be catching some Zs myself. If you excuse me, gentlemen," Amy left the room with a wink. Koji and Mr. Tanaka retired soon after; Mr. Tanaka to his room and Koji to one of the guestrooms.

* * *

By 4 in the morning, Koji was already roaming upstairs to wake up the rest of the household. It took awhile for Amy to finally drag herself off of her bed. She still had a mud mask covering her whole face when she groaned toward Koji.

Koji hastily said, "I'm off to wake the boys," then left her room.

He realized that this would be the first time for him to have a look inside the master bedroom. He knocked softly on the door, but no sound could be heard from the inside. They were running out of time; so Koji slowly opened the door. Honestly, he didn't want to catch the Young Master in a compromising situation with his lover after all. But this was his last resort.

"Sir?" Koji called silently into the dark room. The light from the bright hallway coursed into the room; making its way to the bed and exposed both The Young Master and his lover to the house's cook.

Seto Kaiba had an arm splayed over toward his lover's torso as Mutou turned his head slightly toward the taller teen. The brunette's other arm was folded not far on top of Mutou's head. Legs were poking out of the duvet and tangled like yarn. There was something boyish yet awfully… adorable about these two that Koji find it hard to break them up for a wake up call. Had he mentioned that, from the sleeve of Mutou's shirt, Koji noted that the teen borrowed Kaiba's pajama?

"Sir?" He called again. This time, he got a reaction. Mutou flinched and grunted before turning fully toward his lover and sunk his face to the other boy's chest. Like a reflexive response, Seto Kaiba quickly moved the arm that was outreached toward the other boy to catch the other's head and tuck him close. The taller teen's eyes snapped open. They roamed around the room in alert and stopped at Koji.

"It's time to wake up, Sir," Koji reminded. The brunette grunted and wiped his face. Koji caught him nodding in the middle of a yawn.

"Breakfast will be ready in half an hour. Ms. Amy asked for her breakfast to be brought to her room. Would you like for yours to be brought in or would you like to have it downstairs, Sir?"

The young Kaiba paused to rub his eyes. "Just take it here. Thanks".

"Okay, Sir". Koji bowed and left the room. Amy had told him that Seto Kaiba was the type who won't return to sleep once woken up. So it was fine to leave and check in after he prepared breakfast.

Breakfast was made light and simple that early morning for no one had an appetite at these hours. Koji carried trays of bite-sized fruits, mini pastries, bread, and choices of jams and butter. All three preferred coffee over tea, so he had them with him too along with a small pot of milk.

Amy was in the middle of doing her makeup when he put her tray onto her coffee table. He reminded her to be ready in half an hourr. and that Mr. Tanaka was already preparing the car. The next task would be complicated, as Koji had no idea what to expect. He took a breathe in front of the master bedroom and knocked.

No one answered, but he heard laughter from the inside. So he opened the door slightly and peeked.

Seto Kaiba was wrestling his lover, it seemed. Nothing serious – for the two were laughing. He had his two arms around the shorter's waist and basically pulled the latter's feet off of the ground. Mutou flailed his arms. It was interesting to note that his white shirt was unbuttoned.

"Seto, quit it! Fuck, I'm serious!"

Soft punches were sent behind to Kaiba's biceps, but all the taller did was wrestle him further. "Just show me a little," Seto Kaiba could be heard saying. Mutou was cackling, but he fought back with equal fervor. If not for Koji coughing to catch their attention, the boys would probably keep going.

"Your breakfast is ready," He informed the two. Kaiba automatically let the other boy go; making Mutou stumble down. The latter scratched his head in embarrassment. He looked away from Koji and walked to the master bathroom.

"I'll change in the bathroom," he announced silently. Kaiba, who was already seated by the coffee table where Koji put down their breakfast, scoffed at the departing teen. "I've told him he could change here. The fuck's his problem with me watching?" He hissed.

Maybe you're moving things too soon, was what Koji wanted to say, but didn't. Maybe it was normal for kids in Tokyo to move so fast in their relationship. Really, this Young Master kept on surprising Koji again and again.

"The car will be ready in half an hour, Sir. Mr. Tanaka will be here soon to take your luggage," Koji said. He received a nod and a silent wave of dismissal.

He proceed downstairs to prepare some foods that could be stored in the freezer for Mr. Tanaka to reheat every time he wanted. Now that The Young Master and his assistant will be out of town, Koji didn't to come everyday to cook. Mr. Tanaka told him he liked exploring the town anyway, so he might not spend much time eating home.

Not half an hour later, Yami Mutou appeared in the living room. He caught Koji from the side of his eyes and froze. Their eyes fully met now. Mutou looked away after nodding timidly in acknowledgement.

Ah, he's embarrassed about earlier.

Koji left the kitchen to wait for everyone by the stairs. Mutou stood by the couch with his hips leaning to the side of the seat. He tried to act cool, but he was obviouy trying to avoid eye contact with Koji. Koji was rather nervous too now that they were in the same room. He also noted that Mutou seemed to be wearing his employer's jacket.

The young Kaiba arrived downstairs following his loud steps on the stairs. He paused two steps from the ground floor to glare at everyone. "Ugh, she's not ready yet, isn't she?" He was talking about Amy.

"Be nicer to her, will you? Let her be," Mutou chimed. Kaiba hissed.

"You'd hate her too if you were me".

Mutou smiled to himself as though he was capable of reading the hidden message behind the other's words. Everyone who knew Seto Kaiba knew well enough he saw Amy like a mother figure if not a sister.

They then sunk into a long silence as they waited for Amy to come down. It's not that there was nothing to talk about; it's just that no one was in the mood to converse this early in the morning. Kaiba stood next to the stairs. His arms were crossed as he looked down to his feet.

"I'm not holding back".

It was Seto Kaiba. And there was no one else he could be addressing but the other teen in the room. Despite their established relationship, there was no warmth in his voice just then. The humor and affectionate from earlier were absent from his expression. Instead, he sounded detached, cold, and determined.

"I want to make this clear to you. I won't be holding back to defeat you," Kaiba continued.

Mutou has yet to respond. If the proclamation bothered him, he didn't show it. He kept his posture calm and steady by the couch. "I'm not holding back either," he stood to his full height. This time, he looked at his supposed lover with such fierceness that even Koji felt his breath hitch.

"If I have the chance to be in a match with you, I'll beat you again and again in front of everyone," he said with such possessiveness. Seto Kaiba looked up to return the boy's stare to glare to fullest capacity.

They, Koji thought, were not just two lovers. They were rivals first, and lovers second.

Amy Dunn appeared right at that moment with her Louis Vuitton bag in hand. "What are you doing here? Is the car ready?"

Everyone turned to her. "We're waiting for you, woman," Kaiba growled.

"Mr. Tanaka has been outside for," Koji checked his watch, "Fifteen minutes. Your luggage is in the car. We're prepared to go".

"Ah, I see," Amy said without a care to her tardiness. She checked her phone for their schedule. "We're still on schedule though, because I timed everything a bit early. We'll be driving all the way to the private hangar out of town. That takes one and a half hour. Then we'll fly to Mr. Pegasus private island. That'll take about five hours," she pursed her lips, "Remind me to take the souvenir with me when I greet Mr. Pegasus. Your Granny will be so disappointed if I forgot to bring it to him the first thing after arriving".

The Young Master sighed as he led them all out of the house, "Fine. As long as you don't take me with you".

"No way! You wouldn't let me face that creep alone, would you?"

* * *

TBC.


	8. The Assistant's Helping Hand

NOTES

1\. I posted this chapter alongside another chapter. So if you haven't already, please check out the previous chapter.

2\. This chapter takes place right after the previous chapter.

3\. This was meant to be funny. But if it failed to reach that standard, then I apologize. I have a weird sense of humor.

* * *

THE ASSISTANT'S HELPING HAND

* * *

Amy prided herself as someone who knew of Seto's many faces since he moved to Domino. She knew the _ghostly_ Seto, the one that floated silently to his room after school and the one that just realized his family threw him away. There's also the determined Seto, the one who saw the opportunity behind the invitation to his first tournament after awhile; the one who started building his deck once again. Then there's the angry Seto; this one was the Seto who rebelled at the idea of losing a duel.

But nowadays Seto was showing an expression she didn't recognize. She couldn't put a finger on it. She didn't understand what it is.

For one, Seto started talking more and he went outside more. He even informed her he planned to join the student council. Strange. She knew for sure Seto had never joined an afterschool activity before.

So when the teen showed her the unrecognizable expression one particular morning on their way to school, she was on the ready. With one handheld tablet in hand and a focused look pointed to her email, she feigned disinterest.

"So I've been thinking…," the brown haired teen started as he looked out of the car window.

"Hmm," Amy hummed. _Spill._

"… of asking someone out".

Amy halted whatever she was doing to get a nice look on the boy sitting across from him. So this is what that look on your face implied, her heart proclaimed. Surely, he didn't think she would let him be that easily after that scandal with _Saki Ono._ But Seto Kaiba is intelligent, no, a genius. If he had decided to confide in Amy, he would have put much thought on it.

Unless, he was planning to ask Amy out instead. After all, human behavior followed a pattern. And out of all possibilities, Amy was the most fitting candidate.

"Someone I know?" She asked. Seto sent her a sideway glance.

"Yes".

She swallowed. If the boy dared ask her out, she would show him some judo moves.

"I've been planning to ask them out for a while, actually," Seto added. He seemed wistful. "Been courting them too".

Now that she thought about it, hadn't he started joining her, Mr. Tanaka, and Koji on their nightly drinking since last week? Hopefully that didn't count as courting.

"But they're a bit different, so I've been rethinking my plan".

Amy coughed. "How different is this person you're talking about?"

Seto's gaze hardened. "Stubborn," he grunted in displeasure. Amy shifted in her seat and rolled her eyes. _They better not be me._

"I'm going to ask today," he said in a final tone while crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Amy glared at the brilliantly chiseled face.

"Who is it?" Her voice addressed the elephant in the room. Mr. Tanaka had to be listening in from the front seat too. They both knew not to repeat the past mistake or they'd be the target of a certain _Mistress'_ fury.

"Yami," he answered with such confidence.

Amy dropped the tablet on her lap and crossed her arms too. The two of them exchanged a look in silence; both trying to read into the other's expression.

"Okay," she said, "To be honest, I didn't see that coming. Yami _is_ a guy".

Seto shrugged. One of his uncles, a Kaiba who majored in the fashion industry, married another guy abroad years ago. Strangely enough, it boosted their company's popularity in America and in other major western market. But the weirdest of all was to have Japan silently accepting the news. Their sales and stock were unaffected; and the worst they got was being accused of having "the rich people's antics".

Maybe Japan had grown from that collective and conservative nation to a country where someone's life is no longer everybody's business. It's that; or the public had long deemed the Kaibas too rich to relate to.

Then again, it's not like it should be a problem. Same sex relationship isn't illegal in Japan. Thus whoever Seto chose as his partner, their gender may not be much of a problem. Unless The Great Mistress said otherwise, of course.

Yet, out of all best arguments to choose, he said, "He's nice to look at".

"Certainly," Amy agreed, "So…, considering the situation with his gender and all, how do you plan to proceed?"

"I'm planning to just kiss him".

Amy eyed him questioningly, but nodded soon after. "He seems like a passionate guy". A momentary silence followed, until Amy cut it short. "I hope you know that's hardly enough. Kiss him deep".

"Hn".

"Show him you're more than capable to satisfy".

"Hn".

A momentary silence took place.

"The sex is particularly… interesting," the young Kaiba muttered suddenly, "But I have done my research. Yami will be a happy boyfriend. That, I'm certain".

Amy hummed in approval. The matter of Yami's sexual orientation - if he's even gay, for example – was somehow left unquestioned. Because when you're a Kaiba; or a Kaiba employee, for that matter; you'd be that confident in a Kaiba's charm. Seto's success in his quest for Yami's attention was irrefutable in their mind.

* * *

There was a moment where Seto practically boasted about the first kiss he shared with Yami (in which Amy and Mr. Tanaka held their drinks up in celebration to the young man's successful conquest), and that moment where Amy counted the rising number of love notes pinned on top of Seto's bed (Yami slipped him one every couple of days). All that, she had to say, were the achievements she was proud of. It took her a couple of peek to the two boys text messages to get a full grasp of the two, but after that she executed date plans and booked restaurants like it was a breeze (and yes, she did that all for the boys). If not for her, Seto wouldn't be happily tucked in bed with his boyfriend singing lulaby through the phone every night. Everyone should hand her the best personal assistant of the year at this point. Honestly, could you find a better personal assistant than her?

The only thing that was out of her calculation is the news Seto brought to her one sunny day afterschool. It was onlu a couple of days before Duelist Kingdom. She was tapping madly on her phone, and Seto didn't enter the car acting like he had bad news in hand. In fact, the first thing he said to her after entering the car was how ticklish Yami was on the neck. She hummed like a dignified 30 year old and continued organizing the house' schedule for the time she and Seto would spend at Duelist Kingdom.

Then the brunette said, "So I found out today".

"Hmmm," she nodded encouragingly.

"That Yami's a virgin".

She paused and looked up from her phone. That's a bit problematic. "Well then, that hot kiss confession was a bit of a miss, wasn't it?" Maybe they should have gone for a romantic date before Seto scored a yes out of the boy. Virgins like that kind of stuff.

Seto hummed silently; eyes pointed to his mobile in the middle of texting Yami. So maybe Seto thought he is satisfied with having Yami by his side. But for a personal assistant as great as she is, things were never good enough.

"You need to impress," she muttered, hands already busy texting emails to make arrangements, "Let's cancel the tickets Pegasus booked for us and fly with your jet". Seto stopped texting to give her his full attention. Sorry to steal your boyfriend for a moment, Yami; it's for your own good.

"I'll take him to the cockpit," Seto said.

"I'll get Koji to prepare his favorite dinner," Amy added.

"And I'll convince him to sleep in my room," Seto continued.

The assistant and her employer shared a look then nodded. A new goal was added to the assistant's agenda; and boy was it a challenging one.

* * *

Then here they were inside Seto's privately owned jet; eyes heavy and bone tired after a long car ride to the hangar. And after all that effort she gave to get them all there with a yawning Yami in toe; Seto repaid her with ignorance. Don't get her wrong. She's happy to help Seto: with Yami being a gorgeous eye-candy and a nice piece of entertainment to have at the flight. But after all that time she held back from pointing out Yami's pet name for him ('Blue Eyes') and the moments she deliberately missed where she could spill to Yami his (out of all names, Seto secretly dubbed Yami 'Pound-cake'); the least Seto could do is pour her a drink or two as thanks.

Instead, all he said to Amy on the car ride was; "Why do you have to go with us again?"

It seemed like Seto forgot she work for his grandmother, who is best friend with Pegasus. Thus, she had to go to represent The Mistress' goodwill.

On entering the jet plane, Amy breezed through the pilot and the flight assistant with a yawned, "Good morning," while Seto walked ahead after a slight nod. The American woman followed The Young Master to the four seats arranged face to face with a dining table in between. Seto took one seat next to the window. By default, Amy felt like taking the seat next to him and was ready to give him a long complain. Before she was able to, however, Seto dropped his coat on that seat then sat himself on his picked spot right next to it. Amy halted and sent him a look. The brunette returned it with a flat look himself.

 _Rude,_ Amy thought. She moved to the seat facing him instead, not forgetting to land her handbag nicely on the seat next to hers.

Because he had to make a call outside, Yami arrived a bit later after them. Seto hurriedly put away the coat he dropped on the seat next to him. He offered the other boy a charming smile and the most gentle greeting ever heard from Seto's mouth. It was a courtesy Amy rarely sees on the youth's daily behavior that, in the midst of her annoyance at him, she genuinely thought he was like Prince Charming.

"How's the call?" Seto asked his lover.

Yami smiled – and Goddamnit, if she wasn't an adult, Amy would jeer at how cheesy these two were being. "Yugi's a bit mad I forgot to inform him about the flight. He almost book me a commercial flight there".

Seto rolled his eyes, "It should be obvious I'd arrange a full travel plan for us once I invited you for a sleepover. Even if I don't have a private jet, I'd make sure you'd arrive safely to the tournament".

Yami settled to the seat Seto reserved for him with a gushed aww, in a way that would surprise you if you never knew his real character. The gesture was returned by Seto with a smile that was a full reminder of that boy you date in 8th grade. Amy coughed. The moment felt so saccharine sweet that she felt like drinking the leftover taste away and bit down the fact that she was the one who does all that dirty job of booking and cancelling reservations.

The magic went poof the next moment Seto opened his mouth though.

"That's still too long for you two to mourn over your forgetfulness. You and Yugi had been discussing duel strategies perhaps?" Seto sent Yami a dirty look. Yami shrugged playfully. Seto returned the cocky answer with a smirk of his two were promising each other the worst on the tournament it seemed.

The first thing the two did after the jet took off was discuss famous duelists strategies until they fell asleep. They woke around the same time, but Seto was the first to rose from his seat to grab his case from the overhead cabin. He then stepped across Yami to go to the seat on the farthest corner in the flight cabin. Yami copied him soon after. He pulled a small intricate golden box from his bag and went to the long seat next to the mini bar.

The boys could be seen reviewing their decks; all the while secretly sending determined looks toward one another. Amy realized something. Forget the fact that they had acted cuddly moments before; now, these two had the other to beat on the forefront of their mind. Seto could even be seen taking a special box from inside his case of cards. From the way he gazed between the box and Yami, Amy suspected the deck inside that box was the one he specially built to defeat his own lover.

It took them around half an hour before Seto walked to the other boy. "Want to visit the cockpit?" He asked.

Yami was already closing his card's case; "Can I?"

You could practically smell the pride reeking out of Seto. He was doing his best to impress; and made it - At least, by the sparkle in Yami's eyes he did. "They'd even let you co-pilot," he told Yami.

Both boys walked to the cockpit discussing duel monsters for the hundredth time that day. Amy was drinking on her own when they passed by her. _Ignorant fools,_ she thought. But then Yami bent down to her and smiled.

"Catch you later, Ame".

Amy froze. Why was her heart thumping harder again?

"Must be the alcohol," she muttered to herself as she watched them disappear behind the cockpit door, "They're lucky they're cute. I wouldn't have bothered otherwise".

At least Yami's smile could last her for the day. If she was to be left alone with that ungrateful Seto, she'd drank triple the number of alcohol she just finished.

* * *

 **TBC.**


	9. Duelists' Most Talked Duo

NOTE

There's a long note at the end. Please read till finish! I promise it's not a bye-bye AN!

* * *

DUELISTS' MOST TALKED DUO

* * *

"What's your speculation for this year's Duelist Kingdom?"

"Well, for one, Kaiba never failed to win every competition he partook in".

"Except for the last tournament".

"Except for the last tournament; true".

Alister, who had been silently observing the conversation, clucked his tongue before taking a sip of his drink. Balfry grinned at him, "Who knows, maybe this year you too will get a chance to beat Kaiba, Alister".

Alister rolled his eyes. _You wish,_ he thought. He placed third last year. "Don't forget, there's still Malik," Alister muttered in boredom as he pointed his chin toward last year's second place.

"Yes, there's still Malik. Though I have to say he looks different this year. He looks crazy," Insector Haga commented while turning his head to have a nice peek at Malik. The latter was lounging by the pool; "You know what, considering this year's line up, it's probable that this year's Duelist Kingdom's top 5 would be a repeat of last year".

Esper Roba shrugged, "You never know. Besides, isn't _he_ present? Yami Mutou? He might be able to stir up the competition".

Alister hissed silently after hearing that name. He didn't know how that Mutou guy did it, but he for sure couldn't have beaten Kaiba any other day. "Everyone is saying they couldn't wait for another face off between Mutou and Kaiba. I know I am looking forward to that," Balfry grinned. After all, he missed the tournament in Tokyo where Kaiba lost so he didn't witness it himself.

Alister growled, "Then he'll have to face me and Malik first". The people who heard him seemed surprised at his outburst. Thankfully, Valon came to his rescue.

"C'mere mate. There's someone you ought to meet," he said with a tilt of his head. Alister nodded lightly before leaving the other duelists. He and Valon walked across the rooftop pool area, where a bunch of duelists were entertaining their selves by swimming or lounging under the sun. Further away you'd see circles of younger duelists playing mock duels and trading cards.

That area alone could accommodate the whole 250 duelists who were present to get afternoon refreshments and pass time before the gala dinner. This was, after all, Pegasus luxury cruise ship; it was big enough to hold 250 duelist and 4000 spectators that would be on board the next day. Really, Pegasus never shies away from flaunting his riches.

"So whom do you want me to meet?" Alister asked as they entered the pool's lobby. Oh he wished it wasn't Mai. Everyone was sick of hearing Valon yapping about Mai and how he'd get her to join Doma under Dartz' management soon.

Valon took his time waving at random duelists who recognized him. Doma, a team of duelist managed by Dartz, were quite famous. And Valon placed fifth in last year's Duelist Kingdom. "Someone you've heard about, no doubt," Valon smiled proudly as they took the elevator. Once the elevator door closed behind them, Valon added, "Yami Mutou".

"Geez," Alister grunted. Could someone be anymore overrated in the span of only half a day? The cruise ship where the tournament took place had only left the dock two hours ago!

"Now now. I know you get a bit defensive when it comes to the race toward beating Kaiba. But boss man is the one who insists to have him introduced to all of us," Valon cheered him up; though he must be doing it to make fun of Alister. Their relationship wasn't really the best. "Anyhow, could you believe out of all people, Mutou was acquainted to Rafael first. And Rafael addressed him with such respect too! They might even be friends".

Alister arched an eyebrow. Really? Rafael? Rafael placed under Alister as fourth place last year, but Alister doubted if he ever showed his full potential. The guy was known to be the most unreadable amongst Doma. So to see him to open up to someone was clearly something new.

"I mean, after seeing Mutou battle Kaiba, who wouldn't respect him and want to get to know him? I was blown, mate. It was on another level. Bandit Keith speaks about him in high regards. That stuck up arrogant! Complimenting someone else beside himself!" Valon ranted on, "Have you seen the livestream? Ugh, and Rafael was the only one lucky enough to watch that on the spot!"

Alister snorted, "I don't need to watch it to change my opinion of him". He glared at Valon, "He's a competitor; all the more for us to beat him".

"Nah, mate. Nah. Boss Dartz thinks the other way. Have you heard the rumors?"

Alister heard a lot of rumors since he arrived for the tournament. Seto Kaiba was always the talk of the century for duelists around the world; and whoever defeated him would be granted the same amount of attention. But Alister would rather say anything nice about Valon (which would take a lot out of him) than spout those nonsensical rumors himself. "No," he answered finally, even though he knew otherwise.

Valon grinned cheekily, "Everyone has been talking about it. Yami Mutou and Seto Kaiba arrived on the scene together".

"Psh, the one I saw tailing Kaiba when he arrived earlier was that lady assistant," Alister insisted. It was such an entrance too. Everyone in the cruise' lobby practically went silent when Kaiba entered the scene and floated by them. People parted to make way for him; breathes were held; and a soft buzz of murmurs waved through them. It was the effect Kaiba had on most duelists. They regarded him at an equal term to Pegasus after all.

He didn't linger that long, if Alister wasn't mistaken. He entered the room; checked in with the clerk; and made a beeline to the elevator along with his assistant. "And wasn't his assistant Japanese before? This one's prettier though. With a chick like her on his side, I wonder why people keep on making those rumors about him".

The elevator gave a soft _ding_ before it opened to reveal the floor where most of the restaurants and lounges are. Valon led him out, "Maybe because it's the truth. They didn't enter the cruise together, but people saw Kaiba and Mutou getting out of the same car," the brown haired guy claimed.

"Maybe they mistook the assistant for Mutou".

"Pffh, have you seen Mutou? You wouldn't miss him for anyone else with that hair!" Valon led him across the hall. Alister had yet to see what the guy looks like. But he was there in the lobby when some people created a fuss for Mutou's arrival. It was nothing like Kaiba's entrance. Still, it's certainly strange to see some of the best duelists racing to shake hands with a duelist that just debuted. Most duelists, especially high ranked ones, don't mingle with lesser duelists.

But then again, both Kaiba and Mutou had been the talk of the year among duelists. With them both being in the same vicinity not long after Kaiba's infamous defeat, you'd expect everyone to shove their faces onto these two. The only difference was, Kaiba's fame and icy personality made him an untouchable deity. Mutou, on the other hand, was known to be friendly and approachable.

"Seriously though. I was there next to Kaiba when he checked in at the invited participants' registration desk. And you know what I heard?" Valon continued with a smirk, "He's asking the receptionist to move Mutou to his room".

Alister blinked. _What?_

"And after the clerk reminded him that their luxury suite only have one bed, Kaiba growled at her saying, 'You think I didn't know that?'. The clerks did their best to appease him after that!" Valon chuckled.

"What are insinuating?" Alister probed silently once they stopped not far from an exclusive lounge. He added, "Not once did I see them interact for the time they spent in the lobby". Mutou was busy catering to curious duelists and Kaiba immediately disappeared from view after checking in, most likely to see Pegasus.

"I'm saying," Valon took a deep breath and land a hand on the wall facing them, "There might be something between Kaiba and Mutou". He paused just as long as Alister held his breath. "Whatever it is between them, it's probably the closest anyone could get with Kaiba. We all know he's unapproachable. And Boss Dartz has been wanting Kaiba to join Doma. We really can't risk it with words of The Ishtar's starting their own agency for duelists," Valon continued.

So far, Doma was the only existing duelists team under an agency where duelists are managed, trained, and introduced to sponsors to make better money. They may not be the number one duelist out there (that spot is Kaiba's), but with their shared fame they make the most money as duelists. With The Ishtar's planning to build a team under their own agency too, they might be facing a huge competition. The only way to compete is to get another capable duelist to join.

Dartz has long targeted Seto Kaiba; not only for his fame and skills, but also to prevent The Kaiba's from building their own agency. Yet Kaiba never shown any interest. "If we get Mutou to join, he might be able to change Kaiba's mind in anything. The logic is, if we're able to influence Mutou, we might be able to influence Kaiba," Valon uttered.

It felt like a ruse; a cheap way to get to Kaiba. But no one would skip the chance to get closer to Kaiba in any way. So Alister sighed heavily and gave a slight nod. Valon nodded back before he walked ahead toward the lounge. From the glass paneled wall, Alister saw Dartz and Leviathan sitting in the VIP booth. Just in time, they caught Rafael walking out of the lounge with someone.

"Mutou!" Valon waved to the stranger next to Rafael. Mutou turned to them and _finally_ Alister saw him for himself. He's short, but everything else about him screamed confidence. You wouldn't call him handsome in the traditional sense; but you wouldn't be able to take your eyes off of him either. His most prominent features, being his hair and eyes, made him easily recognized put apart from everyone.

Valon and Alister walked to them. "This is the guy I told you about," Valon told Mutou before turning to Alister, "This is Alister. He almost beat Kaiba a couple of times. They ended in a draw once!"

Alister offered his hand to the other duelist. Mutou looked young – maybe around Seto Kaiba's own age. Valon continued his introduction, "But he never actually defeat Kaiba like you did, Mutou!"

The words triggered something nasty in Alister. Maybe because he's possessive of Kaiba's rivalry; or maybe because he had prided himself as the guy who'd one day be capable to push Kaiba's buttons. But here was someone else who might be something more than all those combined to Kaiba; and Alister couldn't help but look him up and down to measure him.

"Yami Mutou," the guy introduced himself with a smile, "I've heard about you. Your duels in the States last month was particularly interesting".

 _He's knowledgeable,_ Alister concluded. That somehow brought a challenging smile to Alister's face. "Nothing close to your duel with Kaiba".

"That's nothing," the guy shrugged; but the smirk was cheeky. _Cocky too,_ Aliser thought amusingly. He sensed that Yami's confidence was for his own skill; not from mistakingly looking down on others'. A lot of duelists commited that mistake of not fully grasping their opponents' abilities. Mutou, however, was not blind. He's the kind who pays attention; and he's assessing Alister thoroughly.

"He beats the boss at chess," Rafael chimed in – proudly in fact.

"Wow," Alister was genuinely impressed. Dartz is really good in chess; none of them ever win against him. It was then Ryuuji from Japan disrupted their conversation. He appeared from nowhere, practically pointing fingers and screaming for everyone to hear.

"Mutou! It's you right? Is it true that Kaiba forced you to sleep in his room?"

Everyone froze. Valon, especially, was gaping stupidly as he looked between Mutou and Ryuuji. It was the silent agreement for everyone to not bring up the rumors to its two subjects. You wouldn't want Kaiba's wrath be put upon you for harassing one of his possessions. Unfortunately, dumbass Ryuuji couldn't read between the lines to see when to stop; "Everyone is talking about how Kaiba forced you under his watch 24/7 in order to get back at you!"

At this point it was obvious Ryuuji is a fanboy in distraught for Mutou. In exchange, he missed the truth completely.

Mutou seemed surprised; but not as much as he should be. He knitted his eyebrows and shook his head, "No, no. It's nothing like that. Me and Kaiba are in good terms".

Ryuuji visibly became less tense (and missed the glare Valon and Alister were sending the back of his head). Mutou then chuckled slightly, "I mean, that guy wouldn't want to stay with me if he hated me that much".

Ryuuji was still smiling at the other teen, "You're right. Someone as loaded would be able to hire a spy to…," then he blinked at Mutou as though just realizing the other didn't deny the room-sharing allegation, "..w-watch over…"

Valon hooked an arm around the stuttering mess' shoulder, "Hey hey! No need to throw assumptions. Everyone is friends here; right, Ryuuji?" Valon's tone contained a silent message; _Do not crash our conversation and make_ a _bad impression on_ us.

Ryuuji nodded hurriedly. Meanwhile Rafael shifted in discomfort. They hoped Mutou wouldn't tell Kaiba on them. All Mutou did was smile tightly, "But I agree. We shouldn't have shared the room. This is a competition. We should all focus on dueling and not mess around".

Wait, was Mutou giving them an insight to his and Kaiba's relationship for free? Valon opened and closed his mouth like a fish before he sputtered to comment; "Of course not! You're free to do as you wish as long as it doesn't bother everyone else. Agree?" He looked to all three of them; to which they all nodded approvingly. Something about Mutou's humbleness made them zip up from asking for more information. It's either that or they were too surprised to say more.

Mutou left them after a couple of pleasantries. Alister exchanged looks with Valon. "What does this mean? He did say _our_ relationship," Alister started.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But you better not spill this to anyone, Ryuuji!" Valon turned to Ryuuji instead, "To think we've considered recruiting you to our agency once!"

Ryuuji nodded dumbly in silence.

* * *

The cruise ship took another stop before the evening to pick up the event's sponsors, important guests, and the media. The talk surrounding the event became more animated and another face-off between Kaiba and Mutou became one of the most talked possibilities. If you ever delve deep enough to the shadiest part of the conversation, you'd even hear the speculations regarding Kaiba and Mutou's relationship. More than half the people were convinced they were arch enemies; but the rumors strayed them from that path of belief. At this point, no one was certain which was the truth and which was the silly gossip. Are Kaiba and Mutou nemesis, friends, or something else altogether?

Not that anybody would approach the subject with neither Kaiba nor Mutou. It's that; or they risked feeling the tip of Kaiba's wrath.

Kaiba and Mutou had yet to be seen interacting in public with Kaiba seeming busy to entertain the media and business partners who were present. On the other hand, Mutou was often caught on the different side of the room; mingling with interested duelists.

Next thing they knew, night has arrived and came the time for the opening gala dinner. The last year's top five duelists were briefed to mingle with the event's sponsors before they were allowed to sit alongside twenty five other invited duelists from around the globe.

"How about the seating arrangement?" Seto Kaiba asked suddenly while the rest of the top five groomed up in the room next to the open terrace where the gala dinner would take place. The brown haired teen leaned toward the ship's crew who just gave them the briefing with a serious look.

"After the MC started the event and allowed the dinner to start, you'll be seated with the other invitee according to your room arrangements. For example, here," the crew member showed Kaiba the papers in his hand, "You are listed as a guest in our luxury suite. You'll be seated with other guests who were also reserved the luxury suite, which happens to be everyone in top five".

"So five people will share a table each?"

"Yes, Sir".

"But how about someone who I especially requested to share the room with me?" Kaiba made wild movements with one hand all the while maintaining a sharp image, "Will he be able to sit with me too or will he be put somewhere else?"

The crew member stopped to stare at the other man before opening his mouth, and closed it, then opened it again as he stole a glimpse to another crew member who was guarding the door to the terrace. The rest of the people in the room, that being the Top 5, paid attention to the conversation. "That person would be placed according to the room he's previously assigned to, Sir," the crew member finally explained after a silent exchange with his fellow staff. He flipped over the pages of the document in his hand, then stopped at a particular page, "He's enlisted here".

Kaiba hummed with his eyes latched to the paper, "So Mutou will be seated alongside Japanese duelists".

Alister was in the middle of fixing his hair; but he had heard Kaiba mentioning Mutou's name loud and clear. "Yes, Sir," the crew member affirmed, "Is there anything else we can help you with?"

Kaiba took a moment before saying, "That's all. Thank you".

Malik snorted when the crew member left. He wore a white suit, standing not far from Rafael. "S'nice to have someone to look after, isn't it?" The Egyptian duelist said. Malik could be bold, sure; but there's just something different about him

"You wouldn't want me saying anything to Isis, wouldn't you?" Kaiba retorted sharply, _"Malik?"_

"No. Of course not," Malik grunted tightly.

The five of them were allowed to the terrace not a minute later. Eyes instantly went to them as they scattered among the guests; making the sponsors as their target. Each of them, thankfully, was used to this type of interactions with affluent figures. They were, after all, affiliated to influential people their selves. The Doma's are affiliated to Leviathan's infamous sport agency; Malik is a prominent member of The Ishtar Foundation; and Kaiba is… well, Kaiba.

Everyone was allowed to mingle as much as they liked before the dinner officially started. The night started with live music, amazing appetizer, and a couple of jokes shared with the richest sponsor on board. Somehow, Pegasus had yet to show his face around. Knowing the guy, he'd make the most flamboyant entrance known to man.

Alister kept on finding himself eyeing Mutou somehow. He didn't know why; his eyes glued easily to the S line of the other's back. He was in the middle of a conversation with the Wong family (who was the event's biggest supporter) to practice his mandarin when he, for the tenth time that evening, stared at a passing Mutou once again. However, this time he caught Mutou sending a look to Kaiba. Kaiba, who was discussing something with The Ishtars, actually paused. Not only that, he ogled the other guy; neck practically turning to follow Mutou's back.

Oh wow. The two were… flirting.

Not able to stop himself, Alister called out, "Mutou!"

Mutou halted to see him. Alister felt stupid suddenly. It wasn't like him to call out to people like that. "You look… You look good tonight," Alister said finally.

Yami blinked owlishly at him; then smiled. "Thanks!" he said with a slight wave. Alister waved back as he watched the guy joining a group of duelists in the back. At that exact moment, Alister felt the most sinister air behind him. Alister looked to his left to find Seto Kaiba; glaring.

Alister tried his best to not stare at Mutou or Kaiba again afterward; also keeping minimum contact with the latter as they were seated at their predetermined seats. The MC started the events by addressing their honorable guests and sharing the list of entertainment for the night. Then he announced that the main host would make his presence to deliver a couple of words.

Everyone were muttering to _their_ selves at that point; heads looked around to catch a glimpse of Pegasus. A low rumble could be heard from above. It was then everybody looked up to see a helicopter hovering above them. Lo and behold; a ladder was dangled down. Pegasus clung at the top of the ladder with a pose that was nothing sort of fabulous. What was surprising, however, was the presence of another figure in equally colorful appearances hanging slightly below him on the ladder. The second guy was shorter and he was waving enthusiastically to the crowd.

"Hello my most valuable sponsors and chosen duelists from around the world," Pegasus' voice boomed from above; obviously thanks to the attached microphone. "It is I, your main host for today; Pegasus Maximillion, and my co-host".

Seto Kaiba took that moment to rise from his seat and scream, "MOKUBA!"

To confirm, the little guy with Pegasus waved and introduced himself as, "MOKUBA KAIBA!"

Realization came to everyone, and laughter followed suit. Mokuba Kaiba, known as _the unlikely Kaiba_ or _the different Kaiba_ for his knack to throw pranks at stalkerous members of the media. He's the kind of kid who was famous enough to have a compilation of pictures where he threw the finger at reporters and the only video to ever catch him scream _fuck you_ at a reporter went viral in minutes. Even now that he blessed them with his edgy personality, it was not without having his older brother looking up in horror (though his lady assistant could be seen laughing excitedly not far away).

The most hilarious thing of the night, however, was not the older Kaiba's scream of terror or Pegasus and Mokuba's choice of fashion (they wore pink and yellow suits respectively). Instead it was that moment where the ladder from the helicopter almost touched the ground and Mokuba Kaiba pointed a finger at a random spot in the middle of the crowd. In fact, it was pointed to a table where a particular tricolor haired teen was at. "AH, YAMI!" Mokuba exclaimed loud and clear for his wireless microphone to catch, "ARE YOU CHEATING ON MY BROTHER?"

Everyone followed the direction of his finger to see Mutou next to an overexcited Vivian Wong. The boy was shaking his head crazily and waving a no with his two hands. Meanwhile Vivian jumped away to avoid the stares. The laughter that followed were deafening though. Alister himself couldn't help but grin. The spectators took that as a comedic skit where a Kaiba (and of course they had to use the most comical Kaiba for the role to make it work) accused Mutou of cheating the duel where he defeats Seto Kaiba. It seemed like the perfect opening in remembrance of the latest happening in the dueling community (that being Kaiba and Mutou's duel).

But of course, that was no skit or planned scenario. If you put Mutou's nervous shaking of the head and Seto Kaiba's glare at Vivian Wong to calculation, you'd knew exactly what was going on.

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **Hello dear readers! I don't talk a lot in this story, do I? Good news, I'll do a lot of talking in this after-note! How do you like the story so far? I hope you like it. This story started out unplanned (which is noticeable if you catch on my many mistakes). Basically the idea came to mind after a bit of nostalgia with Yugioh and I'm running away from my responsibilities in other fandoms. I was thinking I could just post it without feeling attached to it. This story is my random dabbling and it shall not be taken seriously like my other projects -which is why I don't mingle around too much.**

 **But a couple (and more) cute comments afterwards I just can't. I'm happy that some of you like it (even crossreviewed from ffnet to AO3 and viceversa). And so I think, I should put more thought into it. For my half-assedness so far, I apologize.**

 **At this point, I regret a couple of things in this story. One, the use of English version names. Honestly, we all did that only to avoid typing Jounouchi's name. But I realized, typing his full name shouldn't have bothered me at all because he doesn't make that much of an appearance so far (he will soon tho). I have more respects toward the Japanese version, so there might be some changes or intermixing in later updates.**

 **Two, I also regret not doing proper research before posting this story. As a result, I forgot Isono/Rolland's name and uses Tanaka instead; and I typed in dueler and not duelist (which is an absolute embarassment).**

 **Will there be major proofreading in the future? I will be honest; it would be highly unlikely. Sorry everyone.**

 **And here on I will announce a couple of things for future updates. This is regarding to the elements of the story itself that may or may not turn you off.**

 **Firstly, it's about the nature of the main couple's relationship. Lets be real, most slash in fandoms are irreversible; because fandoms, in the end, is still heteronormative. I am heteronormative and I write heteronormative slash. Which means, my gay couples follow the hetero couples norms. For example, they are irreversible; there's an absolute manly top and an absolutely feminine bottom. Girly boy don't top. EVER.**

 **But for this story I'd like to pay homage to both main characters by making them reversible. HOWEVER, considering my heteronormative ways, it may only be implied or kept at a minimum. I'm leaning more to top!Kaiba and bottom!Yami of course. But expect a bit of the reverse, okay? It won't be much, I promise, so please you heteronormies don't run away in fear.**

 **Secondly, I also tried to make every character and the universe to be more humane. Thus the lack of soul magic and the such. Therefore, it is also very humane for Yami to lose a game to Kaiba in a fair game, right? I mean, they are implied to be somewhat equal in skill. It will happen somewhere sometime.**

 **Thirdly, future lemons confirmed.**

 **Thank you everyone. Have a great weekend!**


	10. Yami's Morning

NOTES

1\. Hello everyone! Been a while huh? The full version of this chapter has been posted in AO3 months ago - and thanks to my negligence, I lost the clean version which I edited a week after. I almost let go of the ffnet version of this fic (which is the clean version without any explicit content) because no one seemed to bother. But a reviewer by the name haneko-chan kind of reminded me that there are people who are waiting for an update from this site. So thank you haneko-chan, your words give me encouragement!

2\. This is the clean version of Yami's Morning. For the full content with explicit content, please look for this story on AO3 under the same title.

there's any complain regarding this story's explicit content (for example, if this is still too explicit for your liking), please contact me through review or PM.

4\. Warning: implication of sexual act between two underaged males

* * *

YAMI'S MORNING

* * *

In Yami's opinion, Seto will never stop being such a surprise to him. Starting from the day he showed up in his school for no reason to the day he kissed Yami on the school rooftop. And now he's asking for them to share his room.

"You seriously lack a sense of courtesy," Yami groaned at his boyfriend once they were out of sight from Amy, Mr. Tanaka and the cook. Seto stood facing him with his arms crossed. His tall form was bent slightly to his shorter lover as he expresses his confusion through knitted eyebrows.

"We're dating," he waved one hand to show his point, "What's the problem in waking up next to me?"

"We've only been dating for a month".

"Look," Seto leaned closer, "Whether it's a decade or a month," he held up two fingers to pinch Yami's nose, then shook it left and right, "It still makes no different, dummy". He let Yami's nose go with a poke at the tip.

"I'll wait in my room for you to get it through your thick skull," Seto turned around with a smirk and left Yami alone in the hallway.

Yami's scowl deepened. He couldn't believe it. He pinched Seto's nose the same way yesterday and now he's given the same treatment by the infamous ice block himself. He huffed then followed after the brunette to his room.

As promised, they breezed through the night doing nothing but sleeping (though Yami had to hiss a couple of time to get Seto to bed with a fucking shirt). They were probably too tired to do anything else. Seto was already sleeping by the time Yami finished changing in the bathroom. Yami remembered lying down thinking that this room and especially the bed smell strongly like the boy he likes. Strange how it didn't bother him enough to keep him up longer. Because the next thing he knew, he was in Seto's arms; with his nose buried to the brunette's armpit.

Seto's face was awfully close to Yami's as the prior rubbed his eyes. If it was any other day; Yami would've given Seto's personality another look for acting so casually after sharing the bed with someone. But Koji had just woke them up at 4 in the morning and their engines were reluctant to start. Thus, Yami's pondering about Seto's boldness (and how his Greek nose almost grazed Yami's) was left seething in the shorter's mind. There was, however, the (literally) pressing matter of their morning woods making their selves obvious to the other party. But they weren't left to appreciate that fact for long either.

And then there was that minor scuffle they had because Seto wanted to see Yami's back dimples (need he say that the cook caught them in the middle of it?).

The way to Seto's private hangar was spent to ponder for Yami. After that morning he spent at The Kaiba's, the full weight of the truth hit him. He's Seto Kaiba's boyfriend for a month now, and he just spent the night in said Kaiba heir's bed. He'll spend the rest of the next two weeks with that same brunette with no Yugi nor Tea to give him a wake up call every time he slip up to his more melancholic character.

Not forgetting that Seto was unlike the clean cut well mannered youth people thought he was. Yes, he has the grace of a royalty, he's intelligent, and he's out of everybody's league; but he smokes at school (and refuses to clean up afterwards), he curses, and he thinks everyone, beside the very few he genuinely likes, deserves to stay under his custom-ordered leather shoes. Yami had been fantasizing about wooing the blue eyed princeling with an outdoor dinner on a matt under the starry night sky until said prince ruined that image by asking Yami out in the most insolent manner. Boy did he realize how unexpected one Seto Kaiba could get.

And he's currently sitting next to Yami, throwing sarcastic remarks at his twitter feed. The tricolor haired recognized then that his morning would be different from now on.

* * *

The next time he woke up next to Seto is the second day of his stay in The Millenia; the luxury cruise where Duelist Kingdom took place. Both he and Seto had somehow moved from his side of the bed to the latter's. Seto was on his back, face turned the other way as his right arm was spread over the pillow. Yami's head was somehow tucked under Seto's armpit, just like the last time they slept together, and his left hand was on Seto's belly.

Which was weird, considering last night Yami made sure to stay on his own side of the bed and as far as possible from Seto's bare back. The fact that this beautiful boy is sleeping close by made Yami feel privileged. You don't get to see Seto Kaiba sleeping every day. At the same time, he felt jittery and somewhat burdened. Because to Yami that beautiful boy shall not be touched; however inviting he seemed to be.

Not that Yami thought of himself as less than Seto. Deep down, Yami had always known Seto was suitable for himself. Yami is, after all, an arrogant. He likes conquering those untouchable types; Seto being the prime example. But Yami is also an idealist. And thus, the untouchable should keep on being untouchable. Even to himself.

Still though, last night Seto was the one to scoot to his side of the bed to hold him from behind. So how did they move to the other side?

In his haze, Yami lazily felt around the other's tummy to note the start of a six pack underneath. _My boy's athletic_ , an absent thought made a its way to Yami's mind. The stomach's muscle lurched the way Yami's would every time he does sit-ups; and that's what made Yami realize Seto is awake.

They didn't make a move; they didn't make a sound. They simply laid there to relish this awkward moment as Yami's hand freezes in the middle of its circle rubbing on Seto's stomach. Then Yami took his hand off and landed it between their bodies, only to have Seto's landing on top of it to hold it in a loose grip.

… lovely.

"We woke up before my alarm goes off," Seto mumbled. It was only 7; though they planned to have breakfast at 9. The brunette let go of Yami's hand and swiftly got up from the bed. The way he's going, it's obvious he's not the type to laze around before actually getting up. Yami's the same way actually; though he's not sure how to start the day with Seto by his side.

Would Seto want to do anything together in the morning? Would Yami be expected to do something for him? Flowers? Poets? Breakfast in bed?

Yami sat up and crossed his legs to watch the other boy entering the bathroom. Yami then looked for his hair band on the nightstand and started working his hair to a messy bun. Maybe he should start moving his body a bit.

He left the bed to open the wide glasses door to the veranda. The sea breeze and the sound of the waves instantly wafted through their suite; which Yami savored with two arms on his hips. Perfect. And the veranda was large enough for him to move around.

Yami bent his body to the ground, lifted his two legs, and started moving his hands in a handwalk to the veranda.

"Never knew you could manage your hair to a bun like that".

Yami halted halfway. His legs gave way. Thankfully, he managed to return to a standing position. "Of course I can," he replied as he tucked a blonde fringe behind his ear. Seto stood in the middle of the room; still topless, but the long pajama pants were changed to a more fitting jogger pants.

Yami eyed the upper torso. "Nice pecs".

Seto looked smug. "I'm not the only one though," the taller teen patted Yami's arm lightly as he walked by to reach the veranda. Yami flushed.

"I train with Tanaka every morning. Muay thai, a bit of karate, judo; you name it," Seto added. He walked to one corner and made a half somersault until he reached the handstand. He gave Yami the cheekiest upside-down smirk then said; "C'mon lift your shirt. We'll see who can do the handstand the longest".

Yami stared dumbly for a couple of seconds. Seto had coaxed him to open his shirt for the longest time.

Seto continued, "I bet you can't do handstand push up".

That did it. The next thing you knew, there were two bare-chested boys walking upside-down on the luxury suite's veranda. On one sweet occasion, you'd see Yami carrying Seto around on his back as he ran around the veranda. On another, you'd hear Seto throwing dirty comments about Yami's behind until the latter spurted out laughing in the middle of a high knee run.

Not that Yami get Seto's fixation on his body at first. It was when he's timing Seto's butt kicks did he learn how distracting the backside could be. Sure, the bounce of that fluffy brown hair was cute; but the behind was just… enticing.

In fact, Yami had Seto's behind in his mind all day (and the smell of his sweat. How can a man's sweat smell that interesting?). He concluded, their current proximity and the exposure of the other's body could really get to him in a way no other guy could. He thought seeing another man's toned body would make him jealous; yet Seto's made him feel like he wanted to cherish it.

Yami was so immersed in this discovery that he's barely aware when he embarrasses everyone in his table (that being Amy and Mokuba) at a restaurant for breakfast by sharing a toast with Seto like two Disney dogs shared spaghetti. As a result, Mokuba couldn't stop whining about how gross it was all day long.

* * *

As the preliminary round started in Duelist Kingdom; Seto and Yami saw less and less of one another. Both were put on different parts of the tournament; Seto was paired against stronger opponents; while Yami, being a no name duelist before, had to fight his way up among fellow beginner duelists.

The preliminary consisted of ten dueling rounds that lasts for four days. Duelists were paired against one another in accordance to their scores in battle (counted by your LP margin, combos used, and the number of turns used).

It is said that the top 50 duelists were paired randomly in their own batch. One would need to reach their scores by winning with more margins to be able to get to their level. The thing was, if you were paired with a weak opponent, you were more likely to use weaker combos, thus reducing your performance.

Which was why Yami struggled before finally having a face off with a top 50 duelist.

As a result, he often returned late to their room. Seto would already be asleep by then; and come morning, they both would be too immersed in reviewing their decks to exercise together.

However, Yami noted they spent almost the same time in the bathroom; grooming.

Domino is such small town and it's rare to find a fellow male perfectionist who pay attention to their appearance as much. In Yami's case, it might be Tea's influence (he shares a special bond with her just like Yugi with Joey). And even then, she made fun of his metrosexuality.

So the mornings he and Seto shared in the bathroom, doing their skin care, became something to enjoy; man to man. Funny thing is, they both had the same self care routine, but with different products. Kaiba had a range of high end imported products; meanwhile Yami had a more adventurous preference, mostly leaning to organic products, but with weird choices from Korean beauty scene here and there. Some of their differences being Seto's regular use of fragrance. He brought four bottles of cologne for that tournament alone; all being famous brands with clean aquatic scent. Yami, in the other hand, had numerous hair products; which, if you think about it, makes sense concerning his hair issues.

That particular morning they just finished washing their faces together. They tried switching products that day, and each of them lingered by the vanity to read the bottles of the other's facial wash. Seto borrowed Yami's shaving cream to shave and they both proceeded to tone and moisturize.

Seto was leaning to the vanity to read the back of Yami's shaving cream bottle when Yami pulled his lip balm out of his simple black pouch. Yami noticed the other's stare after applying his lip balm and he stared back; "What?"

"You wear those?" Seto looked on condescendingly. Yami's choice of lip balm was rather colorful. The container was made out of plastic and appeared cheap. It also had bright neon colors. The finish was very sheer, of course; yet it smelled strongly of cotton candy.

"It's Tea's. She buys new lip care every couple of weeks and gave me her old ones," and he kept on receiving these funky looking ones from her. Not that Yami hated it. He had learned to appreciate the thrill of having weird lip balms (in fact, he had 6 weird lip care options in his pouch).

"You should stop letting her do whatever she wants with you".

Yami rolled his eyes, "Amy buys all of your stuff for you. You don't even know half of these products or its uses before she put them under your nose!"

"That's different," Seto hissed.

"Hold on," Yami disrupted and turned to Seto in disbelief, "You never used a lip balm".

"I don't want to use that girl's products".

Yami stood closer to him instead and carefully touched Seto's lips. Seto watched him curiously. "It's chapped," Yami noted. He then turned to his pouch.

"Yami, I've told you. No".

"Trust me, you'll like this one," Yami pulled out a simple lip balm container from his pouch. "Here," he gave it to Seto. The latter hesitated. "I bought this one. It's my favorite".

Seto took the chapstick and turned it around in one hand. "It's organic and it smells like chocolate," Yami added. Seto opened the container to reveal a brown chapstick inside.

"Will this make my lips brown?"

"Nope. It has a very sheer finish and it's not glossy. You can use my lip scrub tonight if you want".

Yami went to their room to pick his clothes for the day. The next time he saw Seto, the guy was smacking his lips in front of the mirror. He likes it, Yami thought happily.

"You can have it".

Blue eyes widened, "I thought you like it?"

"Yes," Yami smirked, "Especially on you". He tiptoed to Seto and kissed him on the lips.

Later on they shared a laugh when Yami failed on tying Seto's short hair. Seto, however, tied Yami's hair so perfectly that they decided he shall be Yami's personal hair tier from then on. He's good with hairs and he could do it while being topless; what more could Yami ask for?

* * *

One day Yami found himself wrestling under an endless white blanket…, with Seto. The brown haired teen looked gorgeous without his shirt and he wore that fitting pajama pants Yami liked. His blue eyes shone brightly at Yami and all the whiteness seemed to compliment his appearance. Everything smelled so strongly of him too somehow; probably because of the enclosed space.

He pounced on Seto. Manly chuckles, ones like his own, filled the small space between them. They rolled around just like how he, Joey, Tristan usually fool around; till at one point he noticed Seto's pants were gone.

The panic struck through Yami in an instant and the surge of protectiveness soon followed. To him, Seto's virtue was always a priority. So he crawled around – the thought that Seto could manage himself somehow left him altogether – and promised the boy, he'll find that cute pair of night trousers with all his might.

But then he caught the sight of Seto's bare crotch.

And man it froze him.

Most of the time, the sight of another man's muscly legs strike a competitive cord in Yami. However, Seto's only made him spellbound. He wanted to worship every inch of that boy's body; he wanted to touch.

Seto was glaring at him as though Yami had sent his blue eyes to the graveyard. Yami adores that look on Seto's face, but he was still incapable of deciphering it. Is he angry or is he happy? No matter. Yami was hypnotized by those legs; and the erection that stood proud and tall. He never knew he could be so mesmerized by another guy's erect penis. He reached out to it; and touched with the tip of his fingers. It felt so easy; it made Yami feel brave.

So he went closer and kissed it.

And after that was an array of reactions. There were humping – though which body part was being humped, he didn't know; and then there were mingled breaths. He remembered himself being brutal with Seto's hair, something he couldn't imagine even doing before considering how much Yami loves that hair, and Seto returned the gesture with equal force. Seto was flushing and his blue eyes were glinting. Down under, another part of Yami came so alive it felt like a separate entity altogether.

Then Yami opened his eyes.

Realization didn't come to him directly. He was confused as to how he transferred from under the white blanket to the dark room; or how Kaiba's face, which was supposedly glued to his own, was nowhere in place. Instead, he was now hugging someone's waist, most likely Seto's, while his nose buried itself to Seto's side. Yami was slightly breathless. His face was hot but his back was cold from the air conditioner.

It was then he became aware of his own erection (or how it was pressed to Seto's leg) and that he just dreamed of Seto; dirtily. The surprise came first before the shame and guilt weighed on him. How could he soil the love of his life in such a way? He wouldn't even pull Seto's hair that hard like in the dream. He'd rather hurt himself than hurt the boy's head.

Because Yami was glued to Seto's side as usual, he had to crane his head up to check on the other boy. Yami looked up…

To find Seto looking back with unblinking blue eyes.

He had been awake all along, Yami noted nervously. Yami was caught.

Yami looked away to the ornate ceiling and turned his body to face up so that his erection wouldn't harass Seto's leg too much. Seto didn't say anything; and Yami was too embarrassed to explain himself. Thankfully, he didn't make any mess. His underwear was slightly damp; but he didn't – hadn't – bust yet.

 _I'm sorry_ , Yami thought. He hoped Seto would understand; but he'd most likely be disgusted.

Yami rose from the bed to the bathroom without any word. Seto let him be.

* * *

Unlike the previous nights, Yami returned early to his and Seto's suite. Amy had texted him saying Seto wouldn't be there until midnight if not early the next day. There was a meeting for the quarterfinals and Seto was asked to join (though he only joined to make sure Mokuba wouldn't).

Yami was glad he's given the space to think about how their sleeping arrangements affected him. It's just that Seto is too different to the people he had ever met. Some of those differences aligned with Yami – after all, Yami had always been labeled too eccentric for Domino. Their hobbies, their humor, their habits; all clicked easily.

But Seto also brought so many new things to the table. His ease with their proximity being one; and Yami wasn't sure how to react. Seto put too much trust on him; maybe because Yami had acted like the white knight to Seto's princess (or prince?). The thing was, Yami doesn't have the composure of a knight. He was weak to Seto's temptation. His smell on the bed; the sight of his sweat on bare skin every morning; the smoothness of his hair every time Yami brushes it; those were all tempting. If Yami stayed longer in that room, he didn't know what kind of stupid thing he'd do to that precious brunet.

Yami decided he'll sleep on the sofa. That was the proper punishment for last night and to prevent embarrassing himself again. Because of that; he woke up a couple of times in the middle of the night. Not that it wasn't uncomfortable. The couch was definitely of the best quality. But something was bothering his mind.

At one point he was quite awake – sleepy, but aware. He heard the slow but sure steps inside the room and the sound of rustling fabric.

Seto had returned.

Yami kept his eyes closed. He felt Seto walking around; possibly to change, wash up, and do his night care routine. Then he lingered around Yami. _Carry on,_ Yami repeated the mantra in his mind, _just carry on._

Yami could practically feel his glare. If he's angry because Yami had a wet dream of him, then Yami deserved it.

He sensed the spot beside his head sunk as Seto sat next to his sleeping form. Seto then pinched Yami's nose and shook the latter's head left and right. "God damn you, Yami. You fucking coward," he heard Seto growled before his temple was flicked. It was painful.

"What the -," Yami's hands went to his forehead in reflex. He sat up: not even trying to feign sleepiness; as he scowled at the boy of his dream. "What were you doing?"

"I'm angry at you," Seto hissed while glancing sideways. He was wearing Yami's shirt though.

Yami held back from mentioning that last fact and prepared his long apology for the event that morning (or yesterday, considering it's early morning already). But Seto cut him to the chase, "I didn't win against Marik because of you".

Yami halted, "Wait, you lost? To Malik?"

"It's fucking Marik. Malik's in Milan for all I care," Seto growled, "Marik's his twin. And it's a draw".

The discovery about _Malik_ 's identity was scandalous, but Yami was too focused on the accusation pointed at him. "And how's that my fault?" Yami found himself raising his voice too. He would apologize for anything but Seto's lost. It's in his principle that a duelist should own up to their defeat.

"You think I'd be able to concentrate after the stunt you pulled this morning?" Seto exclaimed as he stood up from the seat, "You were humping my leg and gasping like a dog in heat".

Yami followed his example and stand up. He pulled his most guilty expression and lowered his voice to beg for Seto's forgiveness, "Look, Blue Eyes, I'm-"

"And all you did after that was run to the bathroom to jack off by yourself? Fucking coward. The least you could do is offer to finish your damned beloved Blue Eyes".

Yami stopped to gape at his boyfriend. His anger returned in full fervor. "Excuse me then! I didn't know you even needed assistance for your boner, Your Highness!" He had seen this privileged pounce acting up at times; like that time when he asked Yami out; that time he demanded they sleep in his bed; and that time he demanded Yami to apply his deodorant. Most of the time, Yami didn't mind it; he thought that rare side of Seto was cute. But this time his pushiness was just painful to handle.

"Why the hell do you sleep in my bed then, Poundcake?"

"What's a poundcake?" Yami asked out of the blue, "And you're saying that you want to share the room for a fucking handjob?"

"And more. Definitely. Yes," Seto answered it with such confidence that it's hard to believe they were discussing something so lewd. In fact, the tall teen looked as determined as he usually was when dueling.

"Kids from Tokyo are so… crude," Yami muttered in disbelief. Seto rolled his eyes.

"What did you think we'll be doing? Share bedtime stories?" The brunette had his arms crossed. His brows knitted like he just realized something, "Wait, are you hard?"

"Wait, what?"

"Are you hard?"

 _No_ was what Yami planned to say, but Seto beat him up to it by hooking his fingers into the waistband of Yami's long pants and pulled it open along with his trunks so that he could take a peek inside. By the time Seto bent slightly to see his bare crotch; Yami was gawking; speechless.

"You're not," Seto dared to sound disappointed. Yami slowly put a hand on his face to cover himself from the embarrassing reality. He simply said;

"You're drunk. I could smell it on you".

"I'm buzzed, not drunk," Seto tilted his head as he stared at Yami's dick, "Mine's longer".

Yami rubbed his face in frustration, "Oh, fuck you! And you're under the age limit to drink".

Seto ignored the comment regarding his drinking habit, but said, "I think yours are thicker maybe. S'cute though," at Yami's dick. The brunette let go of the pants. The waistband slapped hard against Yami's lower abdomen.

"This is not real," Yami repeated the mantra from behind his hands. Meanwhile, Seto took a peek behind his own pants.

"Now I'm hard. Thanks a lot".

"What was that snarky attitude for?"

"You're the one who chose to sleep on the couch looking like you're asking for it!"

"Asking for what?"

"For a quick fuck".

Yami shook his head in disbelief at Seto's outburst. "You got hard because I was sleeping on the couch".

"Because you had that face. And your cock".

Yami blinked in realization. He had thought this was the Prince he had fought to save; only to realize this was not a Princeling at all. In fact, Seto was the white knight's biggest nemesis all along. He's the evil dragon.

"So what do you want me to do?" Yami grunted.

"I don't know! Be a good boyfriend and lend me a hand?"

Yami crossed his arms. He had expected that answer, but didn't think Seto would voice it as curt and as loud to his face. "You could be a real asshole".

"You wish," Seto scoffed. He then took another peak inside his pants, "So you wouldn't help me?"

Yami forgot his anger as he couldn't look away from Seto's slightly pulled pants in hope of catching the sight of the other's cock. "Uh… I…," he shifted and coughed, "I've never done that to another guy before".

Seto gave an exaggerated eye-roll. "There's always a first, dummy".

"You could at least be nicer, you know?"

"Ugh – so do you want to or do you not?"

Yami scowled,"… I've given you my answer".

"Then don't look like you want to!"

Yami groaned. He looked down to the couch. Deep down, he knew he was going to say something stupid. He threw himself to the seat and sighed heavily.

 _Don't be stupi -!_

"Fine. I'll give you the handjob".

He did it. He said it. He didn't know why he say what he said; but he did it. It's probably because it was only three in the morning; Seto was drunk (buzzed; whatever) and he was too sleepy to think clearly.

Seto eyed Yami's outreached hand with an arched eyebrow. "I'll take your words," he sat down next to Yami and casually pulled out his erection, "No stepping back".

Yami was fixated for a moment, until Seto grew impatient. "Well?"

"Yeah, yeah, Your Highness," Yami grunted and moved his hand toward Seto's crotch. His right hand hovered on top of it – before he looked away to the coffee table in front of them.

The moment his hand made contact with Seto's erection; everything else became automatic. He had done the same thing to himself numerous times after all. He regretted there was nothing romantic in this somehow. They were sitting side by side, looking at the same direction, and there was minimum sweet talking nor touching beside the obvious job.

But later on things go so heated that Yami ended up under Seto on the couch; pants lost in the midst of their thirst. Next thing they knew, they were both catching their breath after sharing their climax. Seto's forehead thunked against Yami's as the prior gave a breathy laugh. "That was great;" Seto smiled, "Best handjob I had in awhile".

Yami thought they were in such a mess. Something nagged the back of his mind that he had done something traitorous to his own ideals. But Seto looked so handsome just then; and Yami felt so good and so loved. So he gave his own shaky smile and agreed. "Yeah".

They went for another kiss; this time slow and innocent.

After that Yami hesitated to check on his crotch. He knew it's going to be messy; it _felt_ messy and sticky. When he did look down between them, Seto laughed. All the mess ended on Yami (Seto was lucky to be positioned above him). Yami even had a stain on his shirt. Seto got away with a damp trouser; and that was only because Yami's legs were sweating.

Seto got up to get the tissue box on the table next to the couch. He cleaned after himself before going to Yami with the box of tissue. Yami was still positioned like previously. He allowed Seto to help him clean after himself.

The rest of the night (morning) was spent in silence. However, Seto did bid him good night with a kiss on the temple. Yami went to bed with the stained shirt on; and Seto didn't seem to care when he hugged Yami before dozing off.

* * *

Amy knew something happened last night the moment he stepped into the boys' room. Seto looked happy (though he was scowling all day yesterday thanks to the duel with Ishtar) and Yami looked absent (and guilty). Seto was even whistling to Frank Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon as he tied up Yami's hair to a bun. Meanwhile, Yami had a wide-eyed look on his face.

Being the great assistant she was, she needed to think ahead of herself. So she's well-prepared when Yami approached her with a shameful look. She had to execute her plan perfectly; because a great assistant would do anything to assure their employer's happiness.

"Ame, I have a confession to make," Yami started silently while Seto was in the bathroom.

Amy read through him like an expert. That psychology course she took in college was not for nothing. "Of course, but before that," she paused to pull her best maternal expression – something she knew would put the teen under her influence, "I want to thank you for helping Seto get over the result of his last duel. He had been sulking all day".

"Thank… me?"

"Yes. He looks so much better today," she smiled and dropped her ultimate weapon, "I'm sure it's all thanks to you".

"All… thanks to me," Yami repeated absently.

"Yes," she nodded, "So what was it you want to tell me?"

Yami looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding confidently. "Nah. It's nothing. Thanks anyway Ame".

And that's another job well done for the assistant.

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **I just thought Yami should be a bit of a hipster with a thing for a chic street rock fashion. And I like writing him as an idealist romantic. I think the fairytale-ish fantasy and the precious ways he addressed Kaiba are fitting to how I want him to be in this story. The lime is kind of meh somehow. My English vocabulary is limited so it's hard to keep the flow and deliver.**

 **Anyhow, I hope you guys like it! I'll do my best to edit the rest of the chapters already posted on AO3 as soon as possible. See you on the next update!**


	11. The Quarterfinal's End

NOTES

1\. This is the clean version for The Quarterfinal's End. For the full version with the full lime, it us under tge same title on AO3.

2\. This chapter is posted only days after my last update. If you haven't already, please check if you've read my previous update!

3\. The plot of this chapter is very loose; moreso than the ptrevious ones

4\. Warning: implication of sexual contact between two underaged males

* * *

THE QUARTERFINAL'S END

* * *

You'd see a number of behavior in the small gathering hall, first floor of The Millenia, where the final announcement for Duelist Kingdom's quarterfinal will be made. Among the forty quarterfinalists – or at least the thirty something that had arrived on the venue, some were forcing their widest smile while floating from a person to the other saying, "Hey! I know I'm not going to make it to the semifinal; but I'm doingfine!Just fine! Not sad. Notsadat all!" Some didn't have the time to join in the ongoing chatter of the private hall in exchange to watch their scores on the live feed of the scoring board. This type was the most desperate; they were hoping that somehow they could still make it to the next round.

And of course there were the hopeless ones; the ones who were absolute they wouldn't make it. These were the ones who knew they were lucky to even be in the quarterfinals. They were currently sitting a distance away from the crowd; either trying to distract their selves or thinking hard to see what they could do to improve their performances.

Then came the people who were confident they will make it. These are the familiar faces in the dueling community. And among them was a myriad of reactions.

Some of them mingled with the other duelists while speaking louder than usual; absolutely loving to shove their victory to others. Some of them were acting friendly – happy – but chill enough to come off as an asshole. And then the very few were worried and observant as they waited for the rest of the ongoing duels to finish. Doma being in the last category as they wait for Alister to finish his duel.

Alister was, after all, facing Seto Kaiba.

Valon could be seen biting the tip of his thumb as he watched the ongoing duels live scores on the board while Rafael was in a serious discussion with their manager, Dartz. Everyone else was also speaking about that exact duel. Alister one-sided rivalry with Kaiba was rather known in the community.

But aside from all that, there was the walking wonder himself – the type who was the talk of the competition. This was the person who would have whispers and stares following after them; the type who peaked everyone's interest once they enter the room. While most of the time this person was Seto Kaiba; this year, it was Yami Mutou.

He could be seen laughing along with a group of duelists as they point out his infamous intimidating presence on the arena. Kajiki was making exaggerated hand movements to Mutou, "Have you seen this guy dueling? When he looks at you, he's glaring! Like,glaringyou down. At that moment I thought for sure this guy hates my guts!"

Everyone in the group laughed; one of them adding, "And he's good at his bluff!" like it was an inside joke. Mutou laughed along despite the accusations. Because everybody knew Mutou, though scary on the battleground, is actually friendly. Everywhere he went people would call him left and right to get a look at his infamous kindness. But he was not the center of everyone's attention for just that. Mutou had been the only newcomer to make it to the quarterfinal that year. Not only that, he had just defeated Rafael, last year's fourth top duelist, with the margin of 10 LP – which was a duel where Rafael was seen to use his fullest potential.

Yami had yet to lose a duel at this point. The only other person to ever accomplish all that was Seto Kaiba himself.

The laughter from the crowd surrounding Mutou was disrupted when one of the double doors leading to the hall was opened with a loud bam. Everyone turned their necks to see Alister entering the room with a grim look. Concerned whispers were quick to spread through the room. "Kaiba won!" They said as the Doma duelist sat with his colleague with his head bent to the floor. Valon could be seen patting his back encouragingly and Dartz crossed his arms in silence.

Kaiba entered the hall from the opposite direction not long after; billowing white coat, tailing assistant and all that. He could be seen having a serious exchange with the tournament's official committee and Mokuba before he and his assistant took the seat slightly away from the rest of the crowd.

The announcement was given to everyone after that. Kaiba won the duel against Alister, 150-0. Surprisingly, there was a low rumble of applause given in honor to the last duel of that day. But most of all, it was a form of encouragement given to Alister. Bandit Keith could be heard hollering from the back row, saying something about not giving up and moving forward.

If only everyone squinted harder, they would catch Mutou hesitating between clapping along with everyone and sending looks to Kaiba.

Mokuba Kaiba then took the stand to announce the sixteen names of the tournament's semifinalists in no particular order. The press were prepared and the rest of the duelists grew silent. Some mentioned names sent everybody to rounds of applause and dramatic screams. The familiar ones; such as Kaiba's and Ishtar's; were accepted with moderate reaction.

When Mutou was mentioned, however; everyone stood up to celebrate – which was strange, because even the most liked duelist would have a couple of opponents who would hate to have them moving forward. Mutou was something else altogether. He had everyone hitting his back (in celebration) till his back hurts (in a good way). Even Mai, who was known to keep her space, threw herself at him in excitement.

The next announcement was the matchup for the next round. Everyone was tense and the media was excited to hear the most interesting face-off. The first one was enough to get everyone on their toes; it was Alister vs Valon.

The other interesting matchup being Seto Kaiba vs Rafael. But then came the mention of Mutou's name that got everyone arching their necks to see the person he's going against.

"Yami Mutou will be going against…," Mokuba Kaiba paused a moment to fix his mic.

…, "Malik Ishtar".

* * *

Alister entered the deserted elevator in hope of catching the ride alone. The door was about to shut when it opened again to reveal Mutou by the door. Fine then, Alister thought. He was not in the mood to see anyone, but if he should anyway, he wouldn't mind having Mutou.

As though realizing Alister's desire to be alone, Mutou entered the elevator with a slight nod. He went into the right corner in the back without a word; knowing that he's going to the same floor as Alister.

"Mutou, hold the door!"

This time Valon entered half running; all smile and laughter when he saw Mutou. Maybe he caught the nerve-stricken face Mutou was pulling or it was something else; but he turned his head to his left to see Alister's flat smile directed at him from where the buttons were. Valon's happy face deflated to that of an awkward one. He feigned a cough before stepping aside to the opposite side to Alister. It was always tense between opponents of a future match; even when they're from the same management.

The door finally closed and the elevator made its way from the ground floor to the seventh. Alister couldn't wait for this elevator ride to be done for. Someone out there didn't seem to agree as the elevator made a stop at the second floor. Lo and behold, the person waiting beyond them was Malik Ishtar.

He eyed both Doma duelists with a bored look before finding Mutou in the corner of his sight. Malik's stare sparked with interest; a slight smirk formed as he got into the elevator and picked the spot next to Mutou. If he had anything to say to Mutou, he ended up not saying it. And the tense elevator ride went on.

The second the elevator made it's low ding heard at the third floor, Alister felt like kicking something. He wished they'd get to the seventh floor already. Then he saw Seto Kaiba standing idly beyond the opened elevator door.

Great.

The brown haired guy obviously shared the same sentiment as he gave a look of distaste once taking notes of almost everybody inside, even making it obvious he decided not to board the elevator after all. That was, until he recognized someone at the last second. You could hear the muffled "Wait!" a moment before the elevator door closed. The door opened again, of course; to a slightly bewildered Kaiba. The expression looked so weird on his face that Alister got the sense of finally seeing the guy as a kid; and not the adult in youth's clothing he's known to be.

No one was happy Kaiba joined them inside the elevator. He was probably the last person everyone (or at least, almost everyone) wanted to see at the moment. Not that Kaiba cared, obviously. He brushed past Valon and Alister as though they were never there; going straight to the back. Alister didn't need to check behind to knowwhoKaiba was going for. But he did anyway.

Something stupid – crazy – happened then, and Alister watched it all in slow motion; from the way Kaiba confidently walked up to Mutou to the moment he tangled his two hands with Mutou's. For a split second there, Alister thought the contact was innocent. The elevator announced its departure with a ding and that was when Kaiba pushed Mutou quite roughly to the elevator wall before going in for the kill.

Kaiba kissed Mutou on the lips.

They all happened to be watching, of course. Who wouldn't try peeking after finding out Kaiba and Mutou's not-so-secret room arrangement. But this was absolutely out of their expectations. Ishtar was gawking uncharacteristically. Valon was speechless.

Alister turned away when he noticed those two doing a full-blown make out session. Valon was quick on his feet (or hands) enough that he punched the button to the fifth floor in a flash, right before the floor was going to pass by. He fled as soon as the elevator arrived at the fifth floor; followed closely by Ishtar. Honestly, Alister should follow their example; but he was far too nervous when he heard Mutou mutteringBlue Eyesin a raspy voice that shouldn't be heard outside of the privacy of their room. Kaiba responded with an encouraging hum that made Alister incredibly uncomfortable. Walking away at that moment would be too obvious, Alister noted. So he watched the door closes with a heavy heart – and he swore the worst for both Ishtar and Valon.

The ride from the fifth to seventh floor never felt so long. Alister was half-running out of the elevator once he was on his floor. The last he saw them, Mutou and Kaiba were still in a lip-lock. They had their hands around one another in a tight embrace as Kaiba expertly pinned Mutou to the wall. If anything beyond that ever took place in that damned elevator, Alister had no idea and would rather not have the idea. He met Rafael on the way to his room and hurriedly told him to use the elevator on the other wing.

"Why? What's wrong?" Rafael looked confused.

"That elevator…," he paused; thumb still pointing at the hallway leading to the elevator Kaiba and Mutou were in, "That… it's broken".

Rafael didn't seem to buy it.

"Trust me. You'd want to listen to me on this one," Alister added before going to his room.

* * *

Meanwhile in Seto Kaiba's room was a chase between said teen and his boy lover. They were rolling on the bed; wrestling to get the other under them. Yami, Seto realized, was not one to submit and let himself be led into submission. That is, unless he had no idea what to do. Yami is no girl – or unlike the girls Seto had been with. When Seto pushed him down, it wouldn't be without a fight. And being a guy, Yami would have the strength and the desire to fight back.

Seto enjoyed it, of course. It took a while, but thanks to that first intimate contact before the quarterfinals, Yami was hooked like babies to candy. He would initiate heated kisses and was acting more cuddly. That last time they made out on the couch he even sulked at Seto for not licking the inside of his mouth well enough.

He had also pushed Seto down in the middle of the dawn and tried to suck on his neck. It was scary, if you add to the fact that Yami has always been so gentle to Seto; yet cute. Seto decided then, if he had somehow woken up the lust within Yami, then he should be the one to tame and contain it. He would like to own both Yami's softer side and ruthless side. All of Yami, he desires.

That boy was currently giggling between the pillows as Seto pinned him down and kissed the back of his ear like a pro. Seto almost thought he had him –almost– until he turned them around and be the one on top. Seto caught the glint behind his eyes. It was the look of a kid who just stole the cookie out of the jar.

Yami bent down. As expected, he went to Seto's neck for revenge. The first lick was quite unnerving; Seto gave him that. If this keep on going, it would be hard for Seto – quite literally.

So Seto gathered his strength and pushed their position around again. However, this time he made sure they were lying on their sides so they could gaze on each other's eyes. After all, if there was a weakness of Yami he could use, it would be his soft spot for tender moments.

True enough, Yami's hungry glint depleted to a serene longing and his tight grip on Seto's shoulders weakened. Seto had long recognized Yami's tendency to treat him like a treasure. As childish as it sounds, Seto ended up craving for the delicate attention. He liked it when Yami treats him like he was made of glass; as long as he became the sole person to have reached such importance in Yami's life.

Yami leaned to Seto's face. The latter was expecting a kiss, but Yami aimed for Seto's nose instead and nuzzled it with his own nose. Fuck, if this was ever someone else, Seto would have been disgusted. But with Yami, the action tugged on his heart with such force that his knees trembled.

Seto felt a soft touch on the front of his pants. Looking down, he saw Yami playing with the zipper of his pants using the back of his fingers. It was a rather innocent touch though; too gentle and shy to cause anything.

"Open it," Seto murmured. Yami's eyes widened like he didn't expect to get caught. Seto caressed the inside of Yami's outreached arm, "It's fine. Go get it".

Yami looked down only slightly to see the zipper he's trying to open. Seto felt the tug on the zip before it was dragged down slowly. Yami actually unbuttoned the pants at the end.

And the rest was history.

After his climax, Seto draped himself over Yami. It felt strange, with the wetness between them and having their sensitive parts meeting right after their orgasm. The contact made both of them flinch in surprise; causing Seto's head to bump against Yami's.

They both spurted to laughter. Yami circled his arms around Seto's neck. Seto noted Yami was in the mood for cuddles and pillow talk. Both his legs and arms clamped on Seto tightly as he murmured sweet nothings to the brunette. One of his fingers was twirling itself in Seto's brown locks. Meanwhile, Seto slowly gnawed on Yami's neck.

Thus there they were; just two half naked boys making a mess on the bed.

It was only the start of the evening. The sun had yet to fully set. Everyone outside must be buzzing about the semifinals (even though half of said semifinalists had retired to their respective suites). In the back of his mind, something reminded Seto of the arrangement for the night.

Actually, both he and Yami had something to do for the night.

As if on cue, the bell to their suite beeped at that exact moment and came the voice of Seto's assistant from the speaker. "Seto, you there? I've been looking allover for you and Yami! You didn't pick up your phone".

Yami was the first to perk up from the bed as he remembered his plan for the night. Seto pushed him down and covered Yami's mouth with his hand. When Yami looked up at him in bewilderment, Seto smirked and shook his head.

Everyone can wait for us, he tried telling the boy, stay with me a little longer.

"Is Yami there? Mokuba is looking forward for that play date with him".

Seto shook his head again, calmly.

"Okay, I'm worried. I'm coming in".

Now Seto was the one to be alert. Amy owned a copy of their suite's key (thanks to Pegasus). As a quick measure, Seto made a grab at the blanket under Yami, then he rolled the two of them along with the blanket to the other side of the bed. They ended being rolled together under the thick material, then dropped to the floor with a loud thump (and a muffled 'Ouch!' from Yami). It was at that exact moment Amy appeared from the separate living area. She halted by the entrance to the bedroom, and observed the innocent roll of blanket with a calculating look.

The assistant sighed and turned her head toward the direction where she came from. "Mokuba, you stay there. You wouldn't want to see this".

Seto's eyes widened at Yami. Mokuba was there.

"'Kaaay," you could hear the younger Kaiba from afar. From the lazy answer, you'd imagine him slouching on the hallway by the door, probably playing with KC's latest handheld console. Seto sighed in relief for not having his brother viewing this scene.

But Mokuba didn't stop there, "Wait – what do you mean?"

Amy kept on looking at that direction, possibly to where Mokuba was standing beyond the partition of the bedroom and the living area. "What do you mean 'what do you mean'?"

"What do you mean I wont like it?" Mokuba asked silently. When Amy didn't answer, the boy continued, "… are they… fucking?"

"No they're not," Amy answered curtly, "At least they aren't, currently".

"Oh my God. They are fucking!" Mokuba sounded horrified, "My brother is in the middle of fucking Yami, isn't he?"

Everyone could heard Yami's offended 'Hey!'; which they decided to ignore. Amy clucked her tongue, "Look, Mokuba –"

"We. Are. Not. Fucking!" Seto insisted from under the blanket, "And we weren't. Not yet!"

Amy blinked lazily then turned to the silly mess Seto got himself into. From the way she's seeing it, it looked like a giant spring roll made of blanket landed itself next to Seto's disorganized bed. But the bare legs and the messy hair protruding from each ends of the blanket told her a lot of what was going on. "Too late. He bolted out of the room already," she told Seto.

"FUCK," Seto's muffled curse was heard, "And who taught Mokuba all those details? He's underaged, for fuck's sake. He needs to associate himself with better people".

Silence.

"The irony was thick on that one". And that was Yami.

* * *

 **TBC**


	12. Pegasus' Reading

NOTES

1\. In this chapter, Yami and Seto is labeled as puppy love and naive. I wanted to emphasize that this came from Pegasus, an adult. I want to bring you different perspective from each character, and I think it'd be fitting for adults to see their relationship as immature. Because I am making them immature. And there's no shame in that. Puppy love is beautiful with it's naivety. It's a phase, and a lot of us learn from it. And if you're worried if the main couple will stay that way without a hint of happily-ever-after-because-the-relationship-is-all-that-matters-in-the-world, then read the first sentence of the chapter.

2\. This chapter is posted shortly after my previous updates. So if you havent already, please check the previous chapters to see if you've got it read. Enjoy!

* * *

PEGASUS' READING

* * *

Once upon a time, Mr. and Mr. Kaiba would be a thing and Maximilion Pegasus would have the front seat to it evolving. However, it'll take years for them to go from Seto Kaiba and Yami Mutou to that – and decades for the universe to discover how long ago the relationship blossomed. Nowadays, they were still debating whether Kaiba and Mutou would have another duel on the arena and everyone had dismissed the bedroom-sharing allegation to jump into that bandwagon. And Pegasus, though one day would be the infamous duo's biggest supporter, was currently wasting his time in the company of one Isis Ishtar as she recited (for the hundredth time) about some crazy pharaoh who sacrificed 99 people to create Pegasus' golden eyeball – which he'd got from a thrift store in Egypt for $10 – so that they could win the ancient version of duel monsters.

Egypt sure had weird rulers in the past.

However much Pegasus adored her fairy-tale epic on the game he created, she would use the narrative to assert that the game was a heritage of her nation. The moment Pegasus nodded at her beautiful storytelling would be the time she expose her real personality and demand Pegasus to pay royalty to Egypt for stealing their culture.

So Pegasus whip his mane gloriously, "You're saying some batshit royalty did all that to play a card game".

"It may not impact all of us in this universe, but the pharaoh is supposedly destined to gather the millennium items and –"

"Dear," Pegasus cut her in his best soothing tone, "It's just a card game".

In her mind, Pegasus saw her preparing the onslaught of 10th grade history lesson, one about her country, some crazy pharaoh from thousands of years ago, and a set of golden jewelries (honestly, Pegasus preferred diamonds). It's so strange now that he took a peek inside her mind, he found that she truly believes what she said. Huh. Young Ishtar might need a therapy (and they say one of the Ishtar twins was the crazy one!).

Thankfully, Mr. Croquet, his butler, entered his lounge to remind Pegasus of his Lord,Pegasus thought to himself as he left Isis on her own. He never truly liked the girl, but couldn't deny her company. She was his biggest donator for the event (which she was using to assert her beliefs into the dueling community). That; and he somewhat had a soft spot for a fellow gifted person.

Yes, gifted. Isis Ishtar could see things most people couldn't. That is something Pegasus relate to. Their gifts were different. Pegasus could see into someone's mind; and Isis…, he wasn't sure, but it was probably something of the sort.

Even with that mutual trait between them, it was not enough for him to allow himself to sit down longer than half an hour with Isis. Pegasus could pull off a charming persona to get friendly with someone; but it was nothing close to genuine attraction. All his life, there were only few who are bearable in his book. Cecilia (Ohh, Cecilia~), his on and off again lover, being one. She's the daughter of a mafia boss with an ambition to take over the world. Pegasus was just one of her fling, beside her many deals with the world's leaders and dealing with family' is too big for dear Cecilia (Ohh, Cecilia~); and Pegasus adores that about her.

Then there is Izumi Kaiba; probably one of the most influential women in the history of Japan. She's one of those woman; the ones who have grace; and a couple of secrets to booth. It just happened that, when you're Izumi Kaiba, those secrets would have something to do with the national's security and the sorts. Pegasus adores the time he shared with her; talking about love and war over tea and biscuits.

And with Izumi mentioned, the rest of The Kaibas would follow. Pegasus loves that bunch of beautiful and intelligent people. From Izumi to Mokuba – they all had that striking personality that you'd easily single out from the rest of crowd – except for Gozaburo (the guy needs to sort out his inferiority complex).

Then there's Seto Kaiba. You couldn't miss this one Kaiba with his brilliant achievements. To Pegasus, his passion for duel monster is something he could always relate to. Seto has that love for the game and aspires to make it as alive as possible, which was a dream Pegasus shared. Pegasus had always seen the two of them as likeminded people. Being a talented youth himself once, he could put himself in Seto's shoes.

However, Seto Kaiba was hardly someone approachable – not even to someone like Pegasus. There's always something dark looming over the youth's eyes and more so in his heart. In the rare times Pegasus caught a glimpse of the teen's emotions, he often saw anger and distrust. It was a sentiment born from years of betrayals and loneliness that was covered nicely behind his tough exterior and ambitions.

Now you might think Pegasus wouldn't give a single penny toward a stuck up kid. However, this is the grandson of a precious friend. He knew Izumi worries about this teen often. Pegasus couldn't help but feel the same. Especially after that scandal that led to his isolation.

And Pegasus was specifically tasked by Izumi to watch over Seto in this tournament. She was far too prideful to check on him herself (Oh, feisty feisty Izumi). Pegasus even went as far as taking Mokuba along so that Seto would at least have one pleasant company on his cruise.

Yet, what Pegasus heard about the Kaiba heir in the tournament was rather disturbing.

Not only was he sharing his suite with another duelist – a very new duelist at that – he also acted different. Actually, he looked happier. A bit distracted, but happier. He talked more and glared less. Which, supposedly, was a good thing.

However, after Saki Ono, Pegasus knew Izumi wouldn't be too happy with any love interest of her grandson. She thought it was better for her grandson to be a child, for once, and enjoy life in the simplest ways. And she would appreciate it if Seto took a breather from his passionate pursuits.

Not that Pegasus would tell on Seto to Izumi. He thought the kid had enough already. So let Pegasus be the sword and shield for now and handle this himself.

"Sir, we have yet to locate Seto Kaiba and Yami Mutou," Mr. Croquet whispered to his ear as Pegasus sat on his throne. Pegasus kept a neutral face. Seto and that Mutou boy were not in their best term when they faced each other in the final. It was to be expected, especially closing into the finals. Best friends became enemies; lovers became exes; siblings became nemesis. It happens. And if that was the case between Seto and Mutou too, then there's nothing left for Pegasus to do.

"Have you checked their room?" Pegasus was informed of their arrangement the minute Seto demanded it on his check-in. Mr. Croquet bowed slightly before stepping back.

"I'll send someone over".

And with that Pegasus warily watched the crowd from his private gallery. Below him was a horde of duel monsters enthusiast; from corrupt sponsors, to the overly-friendly members of the press, to fans with too much money to spend. As they mingled, the theories behind the latest duel they've seen kept on piling over one another – not knowing that the top two finalists they vigorously discussed about were nowhere near the vicinity.

A theory would stay a theory though. It's a pity, Pegasus thought, that these lot missed plenty of what was going on under the surface. Pegasus, beingPegasus,was only lucky to have a glimpse thanks to his gift. Thus, the spectators had no idea that Mutou and Seto climbed onto the arena with fury against the other party. They had no idea Mutou and Seto had their first argument the night before. These people were too mystified by these two's known strong presence on the stage; one for his fiery attitude, the other for his icy silence; And so they missed the fact that these two duelists were really just teenagers in that awkward stage of puberty. They'd get upset over the silliest things in the silliest ways.

Pegasus knew of the fight only because the raw emotions were spilling from their minds as they dueled. It seemed like a rather silent duel (minus the excitement from the spectators seat); but to Pegasus it's comparable to watching a married couple's dispute. Both were accusing the other of their actions or, in actuality, their lack of actions. After all, the main cause of their fight was having their boyfriend not making the first move to say, "I don't want to duel you".

It's not that they wanted the other to step down from the duel; in fact, they each would be the first to put some sense on the other's mind if that ever happened. The real nature of this desire was that naïve demand to be constantly assured by your love interest that whatever competition they're facing shall not affect their relationship. Both boys wanted it and could have said it their selves; but they're both so equally prideful that they wouldn't stoop down until the other says it first. The fact that no 'sorry' was said (again, expecting the other boy to say it first) added fuel to their anger that it all exploded to a silent banter on the dueling arena.

Lucky enough the duel was so intense that Pegasus could distract himself from the internal debate these boys had. It was a duel of the century too. To think a no-name duelist could corner Seto Kaiba to a below 100 LP margin. It was one of those duels you'd talk about decades later as some historic milestone. Indeed, it was phenomenal; and it would stay so as long as people don't discover that these two were not just fighting, but actuallyfighting.

So no wonder Pegasus suspected the two to break whatever relationship they were having currently. At the point they were going, it was bound to end before it surfaced to the public. People would never notice it probably, considering how fast they dismissed the room-sharing allegation.

"Sir".

Mr. Croquet returned his side. This time he bent even closer to Pegasus ear. He looked wary – and Pegasus wondered if Seto Kaiba had finally killed someone over an argument with his boyfriend.

"We've found Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou making out in the hallway, Sir".

Pegasus froze. "Repeat that over me".

Mr. Croquet gulped like he was reconsidering his choice of words. "We've found Mr. Kaiba and Mr. Mutou," he took a breath,"kissingin the hallway, Sir. The staff is assisting them separately into the ballroom".

Pegasus blinked dumbly to a random point in the crowd – in which Balfry Ginger thought Pegasus was looking at him and he cheerily waved. Pegasus, still dumbfounded by this discovery, absently waved back. He didn't miss his butler the first time. They were making out in the hallway. It was nothing scandalous like being kissed by a married woman in front of your schoolmates, of course; and the hallways had to be deserted with the gala dinner taking place. Still though, he was missing something.

How could these two boys make up?

"Dismissed," Pegasus told Mr. Croquet flatly. Seto entered the ballroom at that exact moment with one of Pegasus' crew on toe. He was instantly surrounded by sponsors who raced to be the first to congratulate him. Minutes later, Mutou entered from another entrance to the room.

Mutou was quickly swarmed by a horde of people who had waited for him, most of them being his admirers. Sponsor representatives sent him stares from afar as they foresaw the bright future ahead of him and his main charm points. Yami Mutou was a symbol of hope; the proof that a small town kid could also make it to this stage. Among the finalists line up this year, he's the only newbie duelist and the only one with no significant background. Both Kaiba and Ishtar, for example, were from prestigious household. The members of Doma had rough childhood, but that knowledge was dwarfed by their contract to the giant corporation, Atlantic Inc., that was the parent company of their management. The sponsors were debating on how to present their selves to Mutou and get him to board their boat.

Mutou would be the prey for a while. Not that it was a part of Pegasus concern.

"Send a special invitation for Mr. Mutou to my private office after the gala," Pegasus whispered to Mr. Croquet, who stood diligently by his side, "And send someone to watch Seto Kaiba at the after party".

Mr. Croquet nodded. And now that the arrangements were made, Pegasus could finally mingle with his sponsors and duelists. He enjoyed the time he spent on the podium to give his speech (admittedly, he was a bit tipsy) and the insta-worthy moment he had when grabbinv the crystal trophy for the champion of the tournament. Mokuba assisted him to carry the medals as the two hosts called for the winner of the tournament.

"Let us call for the winner of this year's Duelist Kingdom," a pause filled with dramatic lighting effect and music, "Seto Kaiba!"

* * *

The gala ended at 11.30 pm and would continue on to the after party until dawn. Pegasus had to retreat from the event for a moment to meet Yami Mutou face to face.

Because that handshake on the stage when Pegasus gave him his medal was not enough.

It takes a lot for him to be able to use his gift and delve deep into someone's mind. The easy way to do it was to lower the defense of someone's wall. The walls surrounding the human mind usually shatters under pressure; and dueling would be one of the best ways to create that pressure. He had lured a lot of people into this trap; covering it up as an innocent mock duel before pushing them into the corner until their mind gave up under harsh concentration and allowed Pegasus to easily peer onto their darkest secrets.

Of course, he had told himself to not do it unless necessary. It was very intrusive – although he had always been intrusive if you add in the fact that he's a mind reader since he's very young. So why not use the same trick with Yami Mutou?

Pegasus was settled with this plan. However, when he's about to enter the office, Pegasus saw something in the corner of his sight. It was Isis.

"There's something wrong. In no universe has the priest ever beaten the pharaoh".

Pegasus rolled his eyes toward the door before turning to the girl. She's lucky her money meant too much for this event. "Well, Isis dear, then maybe things are different in this universe, has that ever hit you?" Pegasus tried his best to put on his fragrant smile, "Maybe this Pharaoh, Priest, and… golden jewelries," ugh, her constant preaching had gotten into him, "means nothing in this universe. Just… nothing".

"They're called the millennium items," she corrected, "and they are –".

"Then tell me something that has yet to happen, and I'll show you it will turn out differently".

Isis closed her eyes for a moment, "You'll be defeated by the Pharaoh with the support of his soul-bound partner and his friends. They will create a barrier to protect his mind from your all-seeing eye".

Pegasus chuckled softly. He returned to the door and said as he opened it; "Silly girl; I've never been beaten once".

* * *

Mutou was already waiting by Pegasus' dueling desk along with Mr. Croquet. Pegasus put on his charming smile and offered his hand to the boy. "Yami-boy~!"

Mutou was taken aback by Pegasus sudden use of his first name (and the endearment that followed). But he shook Pegasus' hand with enthusiasm. "Mr. Pegasus, it's an honor".

"The pleasure's all mine," Pegasus replied before offering the seat on the other side of the dueling desk. "Drinks?"

Pegasus could hear _'hmm, not in the mood for anything sweet after that gala dinner'_ crossing Mutou's mind, to which he added, "Or maybe just water?"

Mutou nodded hastily, "Just water, if you don't mind". Mr. Croquet complied with the order and the usual, a glass of red wine, for Pegasus.

"So Yami-boy," Pegasus started once Mr. Croquet left, "How does it feel to place second in your first Duelist Kingdom? It's interesting to see the second place attracting more attention than the first champion".

Mutou looked neutral, but deep down he regretted the fact that he lost to Kaiba. The thought was cut short by the appreciation of gaining so many supporters. "I suppose everyone's no longer surprised at Kaiba's presence in the number one spot," he chuckled.

He's charming, Pegasus thought as he took the golden case for his deck. The second he saw it, Yami knew why Pegasus summoned him.

"I have to say, I instantly feel like dueling you," Pegasus added. He sensed the excitement oozing from Mutou until he checked his blazer's inner pocket to notice , _I forgot to bring my deck_.

He voiced it to Pegasus, "Am I allowed to get my deck first?"

Yet Pegasus knew there was a deck of dueling monsters cards inside Mutou's pocket; but it wasn't his. When Pegasus peered inside Mutou's mind, he saw a kid that looked like Mutou handing over the deck.

 _"Me and grandpa built this for you,"_ said the kid from the memory. Pegasus felt himself, in Mutou's shoes, taking the offered deck. _"It's nothing big or anything though! Don't ever think of using it in the final – if you make it there. It's just something fun,"_ the kid added hurriedly. And afterwards Pegasus felt the love, the protectiveness, and the gratefulness Mutou felt toward this boy. There was something deep between them – something beyond the bond of blood.

 _"Thanks, Aibou,"_ was the thought that rang through Pegasus head in Mutou's voice. Mutou seemed to appreciate the gesture that he brought the deck within his pocket, the one closest to his heart, as a token of luck. As much as it was sweet, Pegasus thought this information was unnecessary.

"Oh my, I don't think I'd have the time to wait. I wasn't proposing for anything serious! I just thought that we can chat over a duel, as fellow duelists. But, considering my schedule and all, maybe we can duel another day or maybe tomorrow – can we, Mr. Croquet?" Pegasus turned to his butler, who just returned with their drink.

"Unfortunately, you're booked for the rest of the day tomorrow, Sir," Mr. Croquet played along. Because what Pegasus is aiming was not the duel; he was aiming for Mutou's motives toward Seto Kaiba – and he needed to duel Mutou now to find out.

"Ah, a pity! I suppose we can just chat –"

"Wait!" Mutou disrupted quickly and pulled out the deck from his pocket, "I have a deck with me. It's just that, I don't know the cards in it".

Pegasus grinned. No duelist would refuse the offer to duel the creator of the game itself. It's a rare chance, considering Pegasus had long retired from dueling in official tournament. It's easy to get bored of the game you'd win easily. "That's better than great, Yami-boy!"

He saw Mutou smirking at him from behind his deck as he scoured through it. In him, Pegasus saw confidence, boldness, and the series of cards he was looking. The deck was definitely unlike what Mutou would use in the tournament. And surprisingly, Pegasus saw a lot of toon cards, which was Pegasus' favorite.

"I'm ready," Mutou said shortly after flipping through his deck. It was obvious he hurried through it to not waste Pegasus' time.

"Let's duel!"

The duel started with basic moves and Pegasus took his time to build his trap. Mutou, according to his insight, was building his too, not that Pegasus didn't know what those traps are. Meanwhile they had an interesting chat, mostly surrounding the interesting face-offs in this year's Duelist Kingdom and the duelists they both thought would be interesting to duel.

It was on Mutou's eighth turn did he recognize how easily Pegasus deterred all his traps and attacks. Pegasus saw him staring intensely at his cards – and there he saw it; the tension his opponents would have once they notice that Pegasus seemed to be able to see through their strategy. _"Could he be reading my mind?"_ Was the exact though that went through Mutou's head.

Pegasus had to give it to him, actually, for putting it together earlier on the game. Most opponents only realized it after their LP was too suffering to be saved. And the ones who knew of Pegasus' gift, such as Seto Kaiba, would down-right refuse to duel him.

Mutou's mind was still reeling from his conclusion. Surprisingly, Pegasus found him to be rather calm and collected. Even now, in the middle of his discovery, the teen was able to sort through the premises of his conclusion before weighing it's possibility against reality. His calculating eyes were directed toward Pegasus form. And Pegasus basked under the attention. It was fun, Pegasus supposed, to finally be analyzed by someone with some sense.

Too bad that wit of his wouldn't save him from defeat. Neither would it be enough for him to be accepted as Seto's lover.

Seto needs someone who could put him first before their own needs and ambitions. Saki Ono might seem like a good natured women; but no woman without ill will would embarrass a child in front of his peers or betray her own husband and son.

"Your turn," Pegasus reminded when Mutou paused for too long. The boy looked slightly startled, but quickly returned his focus to his card.

Suddenly Pegasus heard Seto's voice in Mutou's mind.

 _"Watch out for that creep. He literally creeps into your mind"._

Ah, so that's why both Izumi and Seto often had the word 'Creep' in their mind every time they saw Pegasus. It's funny how he wasn't able to read both Seto's and Izumi's mind most of the time, probably because they're both very grounded. The rare times they slipped out a thought to Pegasus would be when they're too emotional or when they were thinking about that word. Pegasus understood how emotions could lower someone's wall; but why would creep came out to Pegasus a lot? It's almost as if the Kaiba's wanted Pegasus to read that thought.

Whatever. The thing was, that voice of Seto came from Mutou's memory. And now Mutou was adding that ambiguous words of Seto to his own conclusion. He's assured now. And he's watching Pegasus like a hawk.

Pegasus smiled innocently. _"What would you do now, Yami-boy?"_

Mutou looked down and chuckled instead.

"I'm going to do something crazy".

Pegasus arched his eyebrows when Mutou patted his deck. "This card, I put all my trust on it. Because Aibou built it for me". Then he lowered the cards in his hand, face down; and took a card from the deck.

Without looking at the card he took, he announced that he's padding it to the field on attack right before he opened it. Mr. Croquet, who acted as their score-keeper, bent down carefully to have a good look at the card.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mutou, that's a spell card and it can't be applied to any monsters you have on your field".

"I know," Mutou smirked. As rule dictates, he shall return it to his closed hand and take another card. "Then I'll put this on attack!" he opened the card to show a monster card with 1000 ATK.

So that was how Mutou planned to face Pegasus' gift. He'd put any card on attack or defense position without looking at it. It was a reckless strategy. He wouldn't be able to set a trap or spell cards properly. Which means, he wouldn't be able to use any combo. The problem was, Mutou looked so confident while he's pulling off this stupid stunt. Pegasus had heard about his bluffing prowess on the arena. They said Mutou was good at provoking his opponents with his cockiness; even when he's in a pinch.

Pegasus peered back into Mutou's mind to see no strategy or plan for the game. The guy was really pulling this stunt; he's going to use his wild guesses to play.

Two more turns for each of them and the strategy didn't seem to help Mutou. His LP kept on going lower, and Pegasus still had hisToon the more card Mutou opened, the more Mutou's mind grew further from the game.

It seemed like this Aibou person built the deck with a message in mind; because each card triggered different memories in Mutou. And, maybe, because Mutou no longer focusing on defeating Pegasus, he started seeing this card less as his ammunition, and more like a memorabilia from a dear person.

One card, The Red-Eyes B. Dragon, pulled out a blond haired teen from Mutou's mind. The memory was a bit vague, but the blond boy's appearance was so vivid – signifying a strong bond between them. The blond was looking at a card in what seemed to be a classroom filled with faceless students. _"A dragon card! Awesome man! Ya know wha? If I ever get da chance ta fight moneybags, ya lend dis card ta me and Imma beat his sorry ass with dis!"_

Then, on the next turn, Mutou pulled Cyber Commander which called a memory of another teen with short brown hair bowing his head under clasped hands. _"Please, Yami, I beg you! Please don't tell Joey! He'll kill me!"_

 _"You know how I feel about someone dating my younger brother in secret, Tristan!"_ Was Mutou's reply.

 _"Ugh, I know Tea betrayed you greatly on that one – but you're no Joey! He'll beat me up if he found out I've been visiting his sister behind his back!"_

 _"I don't know…"_

 _"Tell you what! I'll give you this card!"_

The brown haired teen handed Mutou theCyber Commander. _"You know I can't be brib – where did you get this card?"_

 _"S'cool huh? Just like me!"_

The Magician of Faithcard took Mutou to a memory where he dueled against a white haired teen in what seemed to be a schoolyard. He had a crowd of faceless people, most likely fellow students, surrounding the lunch table they were using as a prop; and the two boys from the previous memories rooting for him by his side. It was then that a brown haired girl tumbled into the scene and asked everyone to give her way.

 _"Sorry I'm late! What's this, you have one card facing down Yami!"_ the girl said once she arrived by Mutou's side. Without thinking, she turned a card around, exposing it as Magician of Faith. The rest of the boys along with the crowd howled in panic after the move; in which the girl looked around stupidly, _"What? WHAT? What did I do?"_

While the girl's action would be a nightmare for any duelist; it seemed like the duel ended well for Mutou in the end. The yellow sky and the roar of laughter in the background, one you'd hear in a sitcom, were signs that this memory was deemed positively by Mutou despite the growl he gave the girl after her stunt.

Not long after recapping that memory, Mutou pulled out Gold Sarcophagus and Monster Reborn in one turn, which triggered a memory of him sitting in a room filled with toys, puzzles, and art pieces displayed on the walls. Another teen that looked so much like Mutou from behind was sitting by the desk facing the other way. Mutou himself was scouring through a deck of dueling monsters cards when he said.

 _"Your choice of cards are getting more and more different everyday Aibou. And I thought you'd choose something more like mine,"_ Mutou said to the other teen in the room.

Aibou turned to face Mutou with a pout, _"No one wants to be compared to their older brother all the time, you know"._ It was rather ironic, considering their looks.

 _"Aah, you're in that age. It's not cute"._

 _"We're only a year apart!"_ Aibou whined, to which Mutou snickered.

 _"But what's wrong with being similar? I think we're such a match I'd believe we've shared a body once in a past life,"_ Mutou said. Aibou knitted his eyebrows.

 _"I don't think that's possible –"_

 _"Like in that movie where a dead king ended up living within a modern day kid's body"._

Aibou sighed and said, _"If you were a dead king trying to mooch up to me, then I'll pull a Gold Sarcophagus and Monster Reborn on you so you'll stay dead"._

It was meant to be a joke, but Mutou seemed to take it as though his brother really did that to him. The whole room turned blue and dark as a result. Aibou seemed to grow further and further; signaling loneliness and sadness. _"Would you really, Aibou?"_ was Mutou's timid question to his little brother.

When Aibou looked at him again, it was with a very sad smile. _"Well, the dead doesn't belong with the living,"_ he paused as though reviewing what he said, _"But then it'll make me sad. It's hard to imagine living without you. I'm grateful you're not some weird soul of a dead king."_

The blue hue blanketing the room changed to that of a deep orange-ish color; signaling warmth and somberness. And Aibou seemed to grow closer as Mutou felt cherished once again. _"Thanks Aibou. I cant imagine losing you from my life either"._

Before Pegasus pulled away from the memory, he felt like he heard the remaining part of the memory still ringing in his ears. He heard Aibou saying, _"Could you believe Grandpa said the puzzle he gave me for my birthday was believed to contain the soul of a dead king?"_ And when Pegasus finally take a look at the real-life Mutou, who was still staring at his Monster Reborn, he could still the Mutou of the memory chuckling;

 _"Better call an exorcist for that one!"_

Pegasus sighed tiredly after that last memory. Sure, his gift was great, but he's limited to the thoughts people brought to the forefront of their mind. In the cases he need to delve deeper, he needed his target to lower their defense. Mutou, however, was in nowhere affected negatively by the duel. Instead, his mind was filled with unnecessary memories that were more silly than they were important.

Pegasus was out of his wit on how to dig through Mutou's mind. He was closing in onto forcing the information out of the guy when Mutou magically pulled out a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his deck. Which was a great coincidence; there were only four Blue Eyes White Dragons out there and Seto owned three of them

Wait.

Blue Eyes White Dragon!

Seto Kaiba!

True enough, everything in the room started blurring away as Pegasus felt himself being casted into Mutou's memory. His office morphed to a familiar hallway in his cruise ship. The place was made out in great detail, signaling a fresh memory. Mutou was walking briskly in the middle of the hallway with his head down. A set of hurried steps followed him behind, but Mutou refused to check behind him.

 _"Yami, wait!"_

It was Seto, and he was getting closer.

 _"Wait!"_ A strong hand reached out to Mutou's arm and pulled the shorter teen roughly. Being the stubborn guy he was, Mutou showed his resistance by pulling back. There was a struggle here as the two boy tried to get their points across.

 _"Let. Me. Go, Seto! I'm not in the mood to talk right now!"_ Mutou growled behind clenched teeth. Seto didn't give up.

 _"Just listen to me for a minute!"_

 _"No! I really need some time alone!"_ Mutou denied once again, this time trying his hardest to escape Seto's grip on his arm."You've got your victory now. Happy!?"He escaped Seto, finally; but before he was able to run, a pair of strong arms captured him from behind in a tight embrace.

 _"Just listen!"_ Seto grunted to Yami's ear. They both were catching their breath after the struggle; Seto's chest to Yami's back. _"Look, I… That deck I used to defeat you... I… I have been working hard on it for two months"._

It was strange for Pegasus to see The Seto Kaiba struggling to form his words. Yami, in the other hand, was simply silent, but attentive.

Seto continued, _"And building that deck was easy because I only had you on my mind for the last two months"._

Mutou lifted his head and blinked owlishly. Meanwhile, the elevator door at the end of the hallway opened to reveal a giant pink arrow. Not a literal one from the real event, of course; the arrow was a product of Mutou's playful imagination. It dashed toward Mutou's direction and pierced right through his heart, causing pink dust to burst. Pegasus distanced himself from Mutou's emotion enough until he was able to manifest as separate form in the memory. He stood next to the two teen with a scowl and two hands on his hips.

 _"Really, Yami-boy? You were angry at him for wanting to defeat you, and now you were touched because he said he wanted to defeat you too? What's the difference! I don't get you!"_ Pegasus exclaimed dramatically as he watched Mutou's still form. _"Oh wait a minute! Of course… Of course they were different. Of course!"_

Because Seto's silence before the duel meant, _'I like you, but I still want to defeat you'';_ while Seto's explanation now meant, _'I'm only strong enough to defeat you because I like you_ '. And for a duel fanatic like Mutou, it was the most romantic thing a person could tell him.

Seto turned Mutou around to face him; his two hands holding Mutou by his upper arms. _"I just want you to..,"_ Seto continued as he stared intensely into Mutou's eyes. Seto looked so desperate, _"Just… just stop ignoring me"._

It was then that the walls of the hallways seemed to grow speakers because Pegasus was hearing the booming sound of a beating heart.

 _THUMP_.

The hallway was suddenly bathed in dark pink. Seto was blinking, slowly – extremely slowly like it was in slow motion.

 _THUMP_.

The brown haired teen bent his head closer to Mutou; eyes closed; as if proposing a kiss.

 _THUMP_.

 _"Oh my Goooodddd,"_ Pegasus complained,

 _"My guests were cheering out there after seeing your duel; and this is what you were doing? Running to each other and doing this? They were paying to see that duel! To see you two! And this was where you're at? My goodness"._

Because, of course, this hallway in Mutou's memory was that used to and from the biggest dueling arena on the cruise; which meant this took place right after their duel.

 _THUMP_.

Pegasus deadpanned as the two boys had yet to make their kiss because they were running in slow motion.

 _"Enough with this. Just kiss already,"_ Pegasus uttered. As if on cue, Mutou reached out his two hands to Seto's face and pulled the taller boy forward. Once their lips met; the two boys, along with the surrounding walls of the imaginary hallway, burst into pieces of small pink hearts and a thousand harp-wielding Winged Kuribohs. The Winged Kuribohs formed a whirlwind around a very confused Pegasus all the while playing a melodic tune with their harp.

The Winged Kuribohs then grew in size before changing into a thousand Mokubas dressed like cupid; singing, _"Seto and Yami, sitting on a tree. F.U.C.K.I.N.G"._

 _"Mokuba!"_ Pegasus warned, _"Who taught you that word? Grandma is going to be so mad when she hears about this!"_

The whirlwind of singing Mokubas diminished to a cloud of purple smoke. When the smoke departed, Pegasus found himself in a room. He recognized it as the luxury suite on his ship. But it looked different. Normally the room had white walls with golden and white themed furniture. Meanwhile, this one was covered in red – that deep shade of dark red. Unless it was supposedly white and gold, but Mutou's mind drenched it red. And didn't red means…

Passion?

The sound of something hitting the wall stole Pegasus' attention. He craned his neck toward the entrance, catching both Seto and Mutou in a heated lip-lock as they stumbled into the room and hit the wall. Seto pulled away. When Mutou leaned forward for another kiss, the taller teen pushed him back to the wall.

 _"Let me show you something,"_ Seto hummed. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and unfolded it. He held it by it's two tip, forming a triangle, and rolled it until it formed some sort of a rope; all the while smirking cheekily at Mutou. When he slipped the rope through Mutou's wristbands, Mutou chuckled.

 _"This feels kinky,"_ he said. Both snickered after that. _"It is kinky,"_ Seto replied with a peck on Mutou's lips before he lifted the tied hands and hooked it on the hanger on top of Mutou's head.

You could hear the two boys bickering lightly about the light bondage. Pegasus was assured nothing strange would happen when the walls were suddenly filled with scribbles of poetic lyrics – starting from how Mutou planned to caress every single tendril of Seto's hair to the shameless repeat of all possible versions of _'I like Seto Kaiba'_ – which were more embarrassing than it was artistic. Then he heard the sharp squeak – yes, it's definitely Mutou's – from the hallway. Turned out Seto had launched an attack on the shorter's neck till Mutou couldn't help but squirm defenselessly when a hand unbuckled his belt.

 _"What are you planning?"_ Was Mutou's only question. _"You'll see,"_ Seto said teasingly.

Pegasus had a bad feeling when Seto got to his knees and lifted Mutou's dress shirt so he could kiss the side of Mutou's belly button. With a teasing glance upward to Mutou, he dipped his tongue into the naval.

Okay, Pegasus felt the urgent need to escape the room now.

But the more he covered his eyes, the more he saw the memory through Mutou's eyes; where Seto Kaiba had been looking up while he unzip Mutou's pants with his teeth. Pegasus ran to the double door leading to the balcony, only to find it unable to open. The memory was limited to that suite alone. He wasn't looking at those two, but he knew what kind of look Seto was sending Yami Mutou. When the brunet stood to give Mutou another series of wet kisses; Mutou's mind exploded to millions of cheesy pickup lines that overwhelmed Pegasus with embarrassment.

 _"Get me out of here!"_ Pegasus shrieked as the memory went on. The walls had now screamed along with him; reading excerpts of every love poems Yami had ever written for his lover. Pegasus bang the door leading to the balcony in desperation. Behind his eyelids, Pegasus could see Seto sticking his forehead to Mutou's as he slowly unclasped the top button of Mutou's pants. With one last peck on the lips, Seto then returned to his knees. The brunet kissed the taut stomach teasingly before biting the hem of Mutou's underwear.

You'd know how he was planning to service Mutou.

Pegasus' banging on the door grew more frantic. _"Let me out of here! Let me out!"_ His screams were swallowed by the onslaught of poetry the walls were singing. Seto pulled the boxer brief with his teeth. Pegasus roared, **_"MR. CROQUET!"_**

"Yes, Sir?"

Pegasus blinked owlishly at the dueling desk. He was scrunched to it with his two fists on top as though he had just slammed the desk. "I was…," did Pegasus just screamed Mr. Croquet name in the real world too? "I was wondering what you were trying to do to Yami-boy".

Mr. Croquet was standing rather close to Mutou. "I was asking if he wanted to put the card on the field or not," the butler answered curtly. Mutou was still staring hard at Blue-Eyes White Dragon. If you were no mind reader, you'd think he was planning his next move. It's a wonder how he keeps such a straight face while recapping a naughty memory.

"I'll put it on… attack, I guess," Mutou said finally, sounding distracted despite looking so confident. Pegasus shook his head to brush off the oncoming headache. The rest of the duel was the worst in dueling history. Pegasus ended up cowering from Mutou's mind (and thinking about the duel) and Mutou was playing with the silliest strategy. You wouldn't believe these were two of the greatest duelists to ever exist.

The duel ended with Mutou's shameless victory (and that was only possible after Pegasus decided not to read his mind again). On their handshake after the awkward duel, Pegasus struggled to form his words. "Great game," he swallowed the falseness behind those words. They both knew it's a lie.

Mutou opened his mouth to respond, but was halted when Mokuba entered the room with an accusing finger pointed at Pegasus. "I knew it! Seto has been looking all over for Yami!" The kid put himself between Pegasus and Mutou, "Imma tell Seto on you!"

Pegasus rolled his eyes in disinterest.

"Then Seto will tell Aunty Cecilia!"

The white haired man gaped. If Cecilia ever found out he had unleashed his power yet again at another duelist, she'll whip him hard for sure. "Ohh, Cecilia~!"

* * *

"Your defeat had long been fated".

Pegasus stopped chugging his champagne and rolled his eyes. Of course she would be here to ruin his fun.

"Dearest Isis! Aren't you suppose to be on your brother's side? It's his first time in a tournament," he forced out a smile – hinting boldly at Malik's real identity. Because while Malik's a household name in the dueling community,Marikwasn't.

Isis eyed the crowd stiffly as Pegasus asked for a refill to Mr. Croquet. It was clear that she wanted something – an answer. Pegasus took a sip from his third glass of champagne for the day.

"Isis dearest, tell me who those friends of Pharaoh are," Pegasus started lightly while keeping his eyes on the crowd. The young woman approached his side.

"One is a dancer girl, two were an enemy turned comrades; and," she paused, "another is half of his soul".

Pegasus saw the images of their faces as Isis mentioned them. Each of them matched the girl fromThe Magician of Faithcard and the boys fromCyber CommanderandRed Eyes B. Dragon. Half of his soul was, obviously, the person called Aibou.

One person was missing though.

"And how about Seto Kaiba?" He turned slowly to the girl, "Is he among them too?"

Isis returned his gaze. "No. Seto Kaiba is a rival".

Pegasus smirked before taking another sip. "Then you are greatly mistaken, Dear Isis. The, uhh, Pharaoh might have defeated me, but he's only capable of doing that because he has Seto Kaiba in the forefront of his mind. Not his... fourcompanions,"and it was ridiculous how much the Blue Eyes White Dragon card triggered Mutou. There's no doubt about it; Yami Mutou adores Seto Kaiba thoroughly. The moment he remembered Seto, his mind sang those silly poets. It was such an intense adoration that Pegasus head was filled with those embarrassing lyrics about Seto's lips even after Mutou left his office.

Pegasus had decided, Izumi should dealt with this lover boy menace on her own if she ever wanted Seto to stay lonely forever. Besides, Mutou's intention toward Seto was pure; it was intense, it was immature and it was innocent – it's puppy love. Such intention was hardly harmful: but boy was it the hardest to face. There's no way Pegasus would come close to any teenage boy's mind ever again.

"Seto Kaiba in The Pharaoh's mind?" Isis seemed confused.

"Yes. Apparently he gave Mutou a blowjob after their duel," he grinned creepily at Isis, "Such young souls".

Isis eyes widened in silent surprise. She then turned her head to observe the guests in the ballroom. "Is it possible to change our faith?".

"Seems easy for Mutou. He's good at improvising," Pegasus replied absently. When Isis sent him a clueless look, Pegasus flicked an eyebrow; "Let's just say it's a duelist intuition".

He played Mutou in a game after all. It was obvious that Mutou was comfortable with improvising in the middle of a game. He's clearly different to Seto who'd plan ahead to the point of playing strictly by the rules. Maybe that's why it takes plenty defeats in the privacy of Seto's study for him to finally managed a master plan to beat Mutou.

And if you ask Pegasus the main recipe to winning a duel; there was none. Every duel has it's own challenges and requirement. To beat Seto you'd need to be unpredictable, for example. Which was why he ended up getting tie with Marik – someone whom, unlike his twin, Seto never dueled before. It was also why someone who could pull out a trick in the middle of the duel like Mutou was such a kryptonite to him.

But Seto would need someone like that. In fact, the dueling community needs someone like that. Mutou would be able to spice up the competition a little bit.

He needed to stop being such a sap though. Do teenagers nowadays still write poems?

"Do you see Mutou?"

Pegasus snapped his head to the left to see a distraught-looking Seto. The teen duelist was so distracted that his mind was spilled directly to Pegasus. It was interesting to note that in Seto Kaiba's mind everyone's faces, beside Pegasus' and Isis', were blurred until they looked like faceless mannequin.

"I don't see Mutou," Pegasus lied, "Have you checked his – uh – room?"

"He's not in our room," there was no hesitation in calling the room theirs.

"Huh," Pegasus feigned cluelessness, "Where could he be?" It was then Mokuba appeared from behind Seto with an accusing glare directed toward Pegasus. He stopped next to his brother and haughtily announced his finding.

"I've found Yami," he sneaked a couple of dirty looks toward Pegasus. Seto was far too distracted to notice. Before Mokuba was able to inform Seto of Pegasus' petty crime, Seto cut him to the chase; "Where's he?"

Mokuba pointed to the other direction with his chin, "He's there".

The desire that struck Seto was so strong that his thoughts spilled into Pegasus without warning. The moment Seto turned his head and caught the sight of his lover, his mind painted the whole room in passionate red. The sound of siren going off filled the background of his mind when he stopped to see Mutou head to toe. Everything went in slow motion and Seto zeroed in on his boyfriend's face.

Mutou was somehow bathed under an unseen orange light, that complimented his olive toned skin brilliantly. There's a windy effect that seemed to blow his hair in that perfect commercial-like aesthetic. He craned his head in a mesmerizing motion; practically letting Seto's eyes roam over his glistening neck and exposed chest under unbuttoned shirt. The sound of siren quickly dulled to the sound of heartbeat and raspy breath. Mutou was now slowly undressing himself while eyeing Seto flirtatiously.

 _"There's a spot within me,"_ Mutou could be heard saying. Somehow he was dangerously half naked; _"That only you can find…"_

 _"…Seto"._

Seto. _That_ was the cue that reminded Pegasus he was indeed in Seto's mind. He quickly pulled himself together and flee from the gravity of the other's thoughts. When he returned to himself; Pegasus was gawking at nothing, clearly surprised (and disgusted) at what he had witnessed in Seto's mind. Because that was not memory; neither was it reality. It was fantasy.

A dirty fantasy of a hormonal teen.

And It made Pegasus sick. Not only was this of two under-aged boys, but it also involved his friend's grandson. Remind him again not to mess with kids in the middle of their puberty. Their thoughts ran wild; and it's too much for middle aged man like himself.

In reality, Mutou was not undressing himself nor was he saying any nonsense about getting Seto to find his… something. Instead, he was talking excitedly about his conversation with Marik – whom he just discovered to be a fan of Pikachu. And Seto had been watching the shorter teen talk in a lust-induced daze.

Pegasus rather not know the rest (nor did he plan to get another earful of Mokuba accusing him of things). Unfortunately, his only choice of escape was Isis.

"Dearest Isis, let people be people and choose their own faith," Pegasus smiled tightly, "So how about a duel between our talents; a mind reader and a fortune teller –"

"I am not a fortune teller".

"Oh, hush! You Egyptians and your pride. Lets go, shall we?"

* * *

 **TBC.**

* * *

 **The cards mentioned in this chapter along with the respective characters they reminded Yami of are actual references to occurences in the manga/anime. Cyber Commander and Magician of Faith are both the cards Tristan and Tea became when Yami dueled Bakura. Red Eyes B. Dragon is obviously the card that's often named as Joey's favorite, and Yugi played the Golden Sarcophagus plus Monster Reborn when he played against Yami in the final chapters. The two cards combined disabled Yami from taking a monster from his graveyard and it contains the powerful message from Yugi that the dead should stay dead (and that became one of the most memorable moves in the saga).**


	13. The Cheerleaders' Favorite

THE CHEERLEADER'S FAVORITE

* * *

"So in the course of two days, we're hoping that class 11-1 would be prepared with the names of your volunteers and participants. I believe we have a representative willing to cooperate?" Yami questioned the whole classroom. His stead was calm and confident; like a king demanding his servants' full attention. A male student rose his hand from the seat in the middle, to which the Student Council's secretary took note of.

"Talk to me after class," the secretary told the class rep curtly. Yami, who stood next to her, continued on explaining the school's once every three years festival and how everyone's expected to participate. It was one of those boring announcement from the Student Council's representatives, but even the most foul-mouthed kid in the class was put to silence. Because no one dared to go against Yami Mutou. He had long earned everyone's respect in Domino High.

Tea, who sat two rows from the back and to the left of the classroom, yawned lightly. Unlike this herd of mute followers of Yami, she had grown immune to Yami's charismatic charm. Sure, she gets the hype of his characterization. Yami came off as confident and a team player. He also has a strong personality and intelligence to boot. But she had known him long enough to be turned off by his melancholic whiney nature that, fortunately for him, only ever showed up around the people he's comfortable with.

Tea humped in boredom and crossed her arms, accidentally catching the sight of a fellow cheerleader in her class who was winking her way. Yura, her name, mouthed, 'Your boyfriend's so cool!'

'We're not dating!' Tea mouthed back apologetically. Yura smiled at her meaningfully as though saying ' _Sure, you don't'._

"It's not voluntary if you make it mandatory".

Tea turned to her right to see Seto Kaiba leaning back to his seat with crossed arms. Everyone followed her example. After all, no one ever said anything against The Yami Mutou.

"We have a full week of school projects just next week. None of us would do this voluntarily," Kaiba continued. You could see a number of students nodding along. Tea eyed Yami carefully. He had that stead on; the pose that said he's coming to get you.

"It's the Student Council's job to make sure that every class has a fair participation in the event," Yami replied sternly. The whole class was now looking between the two with wary eyes. Everyone, especially the boys, had known of their last encounter in a world renowned stage called Duelist Kingdom. Long story short, everyone suspected a bit of bad blood between the two.

"It's not fair when you're the one to decide the numbers of participation from each class without considering each class' circumstances," Kaiba insisted coolly, "Fair means opening the opportunity to anyone without batting an eye which class they represents".

A buzz of agreement could be heard. While Tea couldn't help but agree, she could never stomach the idea of Yami losing the favor of the crowd nor losing his cool. Yami was known to be fierce, but he never lost his temper so visibly.

Tea saw Yami glaring back at Kaiba from the teacher's desk. One of the guy sitting at the back hollered an excited 'Oh!' to provoke the two – absolutely expecting a fight. For once, Tea was sure Yami was going to lose it, only to see him looking down with a smile before lifting his chin again. "You know what, I think that's brilliant".

The Student Council's Secretary gaped stupidly at Yami's comment. Yami arched his eyebrows dramatically at her, "Hey, don't deny it. He's kinda right!" The tricolor haired teen laughed charmingly, to which even Tea admitted to be attractive. He said, "I wish it could be done as easily too. But The Student Council doesn't consist of only myself. It takes more to change it for the better. I'm sure The Council needs more forward thinking people like yourself to help with this event, Kaiba".

The Secretary, along with the rest of the class now eyed Kaiba. They were expecting a clap back of some sort, a table flipped, anything. Rumor has it that he had applied for the Council, but hasn't made a proper rank to do anything inside it. Kaiba simply looked back at Yami with heated gaze; his form tense but elegant.

"Sure," Kaiba said finally, "I'll show you how to do your job".

"Hooooo," everyone seemed to say in unison. Yami seemed to think it was silly for he chuckled lightly.

"Great. Now Class 11-1 has one volunteer listed. We'll be looking forward to your participation, Kaiba," Yami said coolly right before the bell rang. "Okay, we're done here," He sent a look to the secretary, who was frowning with disbelief at Kaiba. "C'mon. Enjoy your break, everyone!"

With Yami and the Council's secretary departure, everyone left their desks to discuss what just transpired in their classroom. Yura instantly had her seat dragged to Tea's desk. They were soon joined by Lily and Ann; both were cheerleaders from different classes. Tea couldn't say that the four of them were the best of pals – she had the gang to fill in that role. But when you're the cheer team captain, you're bound to have this kind of followers.

"Couldn't believe your boyfriend has to face against Seto Kaiba!" Yura shrieked, "He's a tough rival to beat!"

Tea wondered what kind of face off she imagined the two of them have. "Me and Yami are not dating, Yura".

"Yeah, right. And Seto Kaiba was soo fierce!" She gushed, "I think I'm in love!"

Lily, one of the cheerleaders who actually has some sense, perked up from her phone; "I thought you fancy Yami?"

"I do, but…," she eyed Tea teasingly, "Because he's taken, I'll let him be and set my eyes on someone alike".

"I've seen him. Yami's brother," Lily added, "He goes to the art club with my cousin. He looks a lot like Yami, doesn't he?" Lily turned to Tea as though expecting an answer.

Tea nodded, but she'd rather not introduce Yugi to any of her team mates. Yugi is exclusively hers.

"Ugh! No, silly! Yami's brother is so different to Yami! They look like each other, but they act nothing alike. Heard the younger brother's a bit geeky," Yura blurted, "Besides, what I meant by alike is Seto Kaiba. Don't you guys think those two are high and mighty? They're so interesting!"

"I don't get all this," Ann, the mindless tomboy, said absently. Meanwhile Tea caught Lily whispering the word geeky to herself. If she ever set her eyes on Yugi, Tea will…

"Aren't you nervous, Tea?" Yura was suddenly right in front of her face. Tea flinched away. "Your guy is being challenged by The Great Seto Kaiba".

Tea forced a laugh. "No! No, I'm cool. Yami needs someone to go against him once in a while," she waved a hand. The girls looked at each other skeptically.

"Isn't he like… The King though?"

"No! The Pharaoh!"

"Yeah, The Pharaoh! That's what they called him in tenth grade! No one should go against The Pharaoh!"

"Wait why was Yami named The Pharaoh again?"

Tea sighed as the memory came to her. "It's Bakura," she answered them.

"Oh yeah!" Ann exclaimed, "That cruel senior who was a bully! I was there when he challenged Yami. He's nasty! The teachers were all afraid of him. I heard he almost burnt the school building once".

"How was that possible?" Yura's brows knitted, "And I don't know what was up with him, but I remember he used to pick on Yami a lot. He likes to pick on the underclassmen, I heard".

"It's because of Yami's name," Tea chimed, "They both shared the same first name". It's silly now that she look back on it. A Senior challenged a freshman for a duel to decide who has the full right to be called Yami – which is funny, because according to Joey, who was almost dragged to be Bakura's lackey, no one dared to call Bakura by any name but King Bakura back then. But of course Yami, being Yami, took the challenge too seriously he even declared Bakura as The Thief King for using stolen cards to duel. After defeating Bakura, he wore the title Pharaoh with such pride it was embarrassing.

But everyone adores and loves Yami for that reason. So Tea let them be disillusioned by Yami's charisma. His sappy self was saved for the ones who truly matters after all.

"It was ridiculous," Lily uttered with a final tone, "That Bakura person. Thankfully he has graduated. But Kaiba, damn. Kaiba could be a threat to Yami".

"Hm?" Tea's eyes rounded.

"They're rivals on the dueling arena right?" Lily said silently, "Have you ever thought that they might hate one another?"

Tea blinked. She turned to her right to see Seto Kaiba sitting two desks away. The brunet was still eyeing the door Yami was leaving from.

 _You guys are mistaken,_ Tea thought as she took note of Kaiba's every moves. The guy was now looking down at his lap; smiling secretly.

 _Those two are dating._

* * *

A lot of people would be surprised if they ever found out which Mutou Tea was really dating. Even now, they were gossiping about Tea and Yami being caught eating ice cream together last Sunday. Which was true, of course. Yami had treated her for an ice cream; but that didn't mean they're dating.

Instead, once seated inside the ice cream shop, she quickly addressed the strange discoloration under Yami's left ear to which Yami jumped for a long unnecessary explanation.

 _"Is it too obvious I'm using a concealer? Seto bit me too hard yesterday"._

And those words made Yami looked a lot older than he was before leaving for Duelist Kingdom. She questioned herself if it was possible for someone to change that much in just two weeks. Sure, standing on the final face-off in a world-renowned competition could make you more confident; but Yami changed like he had matured over the last couple of weeks without Tea. And it felt strange to miss a chunk of Yami's journey after being his buddy of more than ten years.

 _"I know you'll judge me for this, Tea, but I wish… he kissed me a bit longer last night"._

Tea remembered seeing him sitting back against the ice cream shop's seating while rubbing the spot under his ear thoughtfully. The air around him felt different just then. He looked like an adult.

 _"I never knew being hugged by another guy could feel so good, you know?"_

Tea remembered squeaking in surprise once she heard Kaiba and Yami had slept together. Nothing sexual, Yami had insisted, but that was a surprise to Tea. She and Yugi had long suspected Yami and Kaiba's relationship ever since the start of their rendezvous. But sharing a room was unlike Yami… nor Kaiba.

 _"I'm surprised I agreed so easily to the idea too. Seto's like that. He treats relationships casually. I think he dated someone before," Tea remembered Yami saying, "He's so pushy, Tea! Bossy! Always decide first and asks opinion later. I don't know, he's just so… so brash! You wouldn't believe what he had me done in those two weeks. Darn, I couldn't believe I did all of those with him in such a short amount of time. I should have told him to slow down"._

 _"But he's so irresistible. I couldn't say no to that handsome face"._

Then Yami kept on smiling dreamily to himself. Tea remembered not being able to put together the Kaiba Yami was seeing and the Kaiba she had seen at school.

Seto Kaiba never say much nor do much. In fact he seemed well mannered most of the time. The only time he ever did something rude was when Joey – being Joey – overwhelms him his first day in Domino High. Couldn't really blame Joey though, a lot of guys looks up to Kaiba for his innovation on their childhood game; but Joey could be a bit over the top sometimes. And it was Kaiba's first day at such an alien place. Thus, the word Mutt came out; inflicting a one-sided rivalry on Joey's side.

But overall Seto Kaiba was different to what the public made him out to be. Back then, you'll hear he was rude and mean even to his older co workers at Kaiba Corp. But to Domino High's students, he's your typical silent star student - one of those popular student you've heard of, but never knew personally.

"He is rude though".

That was not the sound of her imagination. Tea turned to see Yami standing by the Student Council's office door with a couple of Student Council's members surrounding him. Yami was rubbing his temple and frowning.

"I know you've been in a competition with him, Yami. But I'm in his class. He's such an honor student!" A classmate of Tea blurted to Yami, "Who knows! He might be the one to change our Student Council for the better!"

Yami was sighing heavily. "Guys, let me tell you. He hates the school, kay?"

His listeners rolled their eyes and said a, "Yea right, Yami" to his face. Tea perked his head behind them just then. "Tea! You're here, great!" Yami called out half-heartedly. The rest of The Council members looked at her and dispersed. The guy from before, who was in the same class as Tea, patted her shoulder on his way. "You lovebirds have your chat. And Tea, tell your boyfriend to sort out his problem with Kaiba. He might be the Pharaoh, but no King would stand a chance against The Seto Kaiba."

"Hey!" Yami hit the back of the guy's head playfully using a rolled paper. The guy fled, chuckling.

"What's going on?" Tea probed curiously. Yami sighed yet again.

"The Council caught a word about Seto's proclamation and they're convinced Seto would be their savior for the next Student President's election," he replied flatly.

Tea put her words carefully, "They thought he could be the next President?"

"Yes," Yami gave her a tightlipped smile, "His attitude back in your class gave them false hope".

"How about you? I thought you'll be running for president".

"Me? No! I have my dueling career to think about," Yami squared his shoulder proudly. Tea booed.

"So you're absolute Kaiba wouldn't be interested. He said a lot for someone who isn't interested in the Council".

"Tea – Girl, listen to me," Yami crossed his arms and leaned to the door frame, "He might act like an honor student; but he smokes at school and he badtalks everyone behind their backs. He abhors this place and its people, more so the teachers. So why would he care for The Student Council?"

When Tea kept her silence, Yami added, "Look, what he did in your class? He was flirting at me. That's all".

Tea blinked dumbly at the guy she had befriended since preschool. How confident could this guy get?

Yami opened the rolled paper in his hand and shifted in a way that warned Tea that he wanted sonething. "Anyhow, Tea, I called you here hoping you'll volunteer for your class. Pretty please?" He pulled his best puppy look, which ended up looking like a Dobermann ready to chase you down. Tea huffed.

"You heard what Kaiba said back then," she reminded.

"If only it was as easy as he said it," Yami sighed before leaning closer to Tea, "Come on, Tea. Please. I have to gather as many people as I can. Maybe you can get that cheerleader friend from your class to help out too!" he then hurriedly added, "I'll treat you to another ice cream, Girl. For three weeks".

"Ugh, deal. But you have to get Tristan and Joey to do the same," Tea relented.

"Cool," Yami cheered almost instantly, "I already have your names on the volunteer list anyway. I can't reach Tristan though – could he maybe left his mobi –"

"Awww, look at you two," a girl cooed from behind Yami. Yami turned around with a scowl. "Miss Cheer Captain and The Future School President. How cute," She continued.

"Duelist, Miss President. I'm a duelist!" Yami told the School President. He turned to Tea with an uncharacteristic sluggishness, "Geez, I don't get why they think I'm interested".

Tea wondered too.

* * *

It wasn't easy living a high school life where you're put in a box. Both Yami and Tea were lucky to be in a box everyone competed to go in. It was the box reserved for the coolest crowd; and it was painfully the fakest one of all. Thus, they missed the tomboy behind Tea's pretty looks and dancer figure.

Not that Tea aspired to be Queen Bee. She was crowned the best girl since kindergarten. And together with Yami, who has the natural talent to shepherd the other kids, they were the couple their peers looked up to.

Too bad Tea never looked at Yami that way. She tried in fifth grade; ended up crushing on Yugi.

But if there is any unexpected pairing out there, Yami and Seto Kaiba would be one. And it wasn't because of their genders. It was specifically because they both seem so equal in many aspects that people think they were better off as rivals.

Not that most people have the best judgements. They missed the fact that Yami had only been such a busybody since his mother disappearance. He took up the strong and confident persona to cope with loss though he sometimes slipped to his melancholic character. Yami could be a bit whiney and immature instead. He would appear to be the main cockblock in Tea and Yugi's love story; sometimes coming out of nowhere in the middle of an almost kiss just to call "Aibou" numerous times until Yugi could do nothing else but relent. That was the Yami Mutou behind the mask; and only a few were (un)fortunate to witness it.

Meanwhile not much was known about Seto Kaiba according to most in Domino. In a glance he came off as a silent and good-mannered student. But to Yami, he was apparently an overbearing Young Master with a knack for finding the fault in everything. He's a bit rebellious and has commited a couple of bad habbits (smoking in school, drinking alcohols).

It was strange to know that the kid everyone thought to be bad happened to be the saint; and the one you thought to be the goody-two-shoes turned out to be the troublesome kind. The thing is, people tend to judge by the cover. And sometimes it's easier to follow their opinions than to explain yourself.

So that's why when Yura asked her if people were easily fooled by appearance, Tea agreed. "See? She agrees with me!" Yura announced proudly to their group of four on their way from cheer practice. Ann, who stood idly with her mobile in hand, looked down to check their instagram account.

"But they really said we look like a group of models," Ann insisted. Lily finished her box of low fat chocolate milk and threw it into a nearby bin. "They're empty compliments Ann. They've seen us in our uniform in our other pictures and the name of our account clearly states that we're a cheerleading team," Lily explained.

"Oh, who knows, Lil! Last week, my cousin brought his college friends over and they all thought I'm a college student even though I was working on my eleventh grade homework! People are dumb sometimes!" Yura turned to the Cheer Captain, "Right, Tea?"

Tea smiled secretly. "Maaaybe," she teased, knowing full well none of them were better than the next guy. What would they do if they ever finds out Tea dated the other Mutou brother? The one they called geeky? Better yet, what would they do if they ever find out the two hottest guys in school are dating each other?

Yura pouted – then jumped in excitement. "Ooh, I know! We should upload another pic in our instagram! I know just the right place to get a good shot!" She beamed, "And the timing is great! We can all look cute and adorable in our school uniform – we'll see if anyone would say we look like an idol group!"

"Where is this place you're talking about?" Lily asked.

"It's by the empty canal not far from the park. There's a bridge there with a rustic tunnel below – and that spot is awesome! A bit deserted, so we better get there before dark".

Everyone looked skeptical. They all heard of the empty canal. It was one of those old and abandoned place no one wanted to visit. "I was planning to go home, but if everyone go, I'll go," Lily said, but she was only looking at Tea. Their eyes met for a lingering second before Tea put on her brightest voice.

"I'll go. It sounds fun".

And just like that, she worked her magic. Suddenly, the doubts seemed like it was never there at all.

They spent their walk to the canal giggling on the week's gossip – one of them being The Thief King Bakura's second coming to Domino. "He moved to UK for good, that's for sure," Ann chimed as they entered the park. A couple of children waved at them and a little more actually gushed after seeing four pretty big sisters. Yura led them to the footpath between the lines of trees surrounding the park. The footpath was clearly unsheltered. A couple of steps further, they were growing restless on Yura's idea. The girl's a bit airheaded.

Thankfully they reached a clearing after a fifteen minute walk. The canal was rather huge and empty; but clean. They walked to a round platform overlooking the canal below. Apparently the sky's view was awesome from this spot.

"Not bad, Yura. I was suspecting you had no idea what you're saying," Ann blurted.

"Of course I know what I'm saying. Anyhow, this isn't the spot I was talking about. This spot used to be the hotspot for lovers when Mom's in highschool; but I guess they stopped coming after the canal was drained," Yura muttered as she walked to a stairscase leading below, "Follow me, you guys!"

They went down to the huge pavement canal and crossed it until they reached a small bridge with a gravity covered tunnel under it. It was big enough for a person to go in.

They ended up taking many pictures there. It was made perfect by the orange hues from the flushing sky that bathed the whole canal. Around that time, their silhouettes showed itself by appearing bigger; and they all had fun with it. Tea was surprised she ended up enjoying this random trip to take pictures. She wasn't the type to enjoy such activities, but this was seriously fun.

"Kay, a quick dare! Who'd be brave enough to keep this lipstick all the way back home?" Ann pointed at her own dark blue coated lips. They all had the same lipstick on. Yura brought it with her to school silently and they all decided a last minute touch up for their photoshoot would be nice. They all ended up looking like a bunch of bad girls in a gang; but it was an exciting theme for a picture.

"I'm in!" Tea chirped bravely.

"I'll do that too!" Lily winked elegantly, looking uncharacteristically bold in her dark lips.

"Mom already saw me with this yesterday," Yura complained, "Your parents will be surprised though!"

"Mom will throw a fit," Lily chimed. Once it hit them that someone they knew would see their lips, they all laughed. They went to the staircase while reviewing the pictures on Ann's mobile.

"We should take a picture on the lover's hotspot above! The sunset view is perfect from there," Yura climbed the steps, but then turned around to wink "It might inspire Tea to go there with Yami".

She ran ahead of them on the steps while giggling to herself. Then she gave an abrupt stop once she almost reached the end of the steps. The rest of the girls were made confused by her sudden change of mood.

"What's wrong?" Ann was the one to ask for she waa right behind Yura. However, she ended up stopping only a step behind the girl as though enchanted by something. Tea and Lily followed suit. What they found ahead was surprising.

There were two people kissing on the balcony facing the canal. It was a couple of two boys - in Domino High uniform. With the sun blinding their sight, it took a while for them to recognize the two. But the hair was a huge giveaway in one boy's case. Then it became obvious.

It's Yami and Kaiba.

Yami stood between Kaiba's legs as the latter sat on the railing. Both had their hands off of the other; with Yami's in his pockets and Seto's on his sides; yet the scene didn't lack any sort of intimacy. Tea saw Yami letting go of the brunet slowly only to smile shyly. He might have noticed something on his right because he suddenly looked their way.

Yami's eyes instantly grew wide and the soft expression he just held turned rigid. He quickly looked away, coughed, and took a step back from Kaiba – not that it would help him any. Kaiba, on the other hand, seemed extremely calm for someone who had been busted.

Tea jumped in to help her best friend by getting the girls to leave the place. She coughed and hummed a soft yet authoritative, "Lets go" to the girls before leading them away by taking ahold of Yura's hand. The walk passing the two boys was awkward and tense, with Lily growing obviously nervous, Ann whispering 'Shit' nonstop to herself and Yura looking back and forth between Yami and Tea like she couldn't figure out what was going on. Kaiba's cold unreadable gaze was unmoved from the girls as they walked by; and Tea tried her best to act docile and calm. She was going to collect her reward from Yami after this.

The girls almost left the clearing when Yura suddenly stopped yet again. Tea, who had been half-dragging the girl, turned to her curiously. She looked haunted, and Tea swore Yura mouthed 'What's going on?' to her before gaping at Tea as though she figured it out by herself. Maybe she understood from Tea's casual reaction to the event. There was never Tea and Yami. Tea and Yami never dated!

The stupidest thing happened just then. Maybe Tea should have seen the warning when Yura send a determined gaze her way. So when Yura turned around to face the young couple behind them, Tea was left dumbfounded.

"You look good!" She shouted at the two. Yami looked back at them with wide eyes.

"Together!" She added.

"Yeah, you guys are cute!" Lily – the silent one – joined her. Tea was gaping at the back of her head. "We support you!" Lily continued.

"Yeah!" Yura agreed rather loudly. At this point, Tea saw Yami turning away robotically. Kaiba simply arched an eyebrow at them from behind his shorter lover. This whole thing was ridiculous.

"Gays are cool!" This time it was Ann.

"Yeah!"

"Everyone should be gay!"

"Yeah!"

Tea shook her head and sighed heavily. Meanwhile Yami had fully turned his back at them; probably too embarassed for words. "Cut it out," Tea said silently after meeting Kaiba's steely expression.

"Hush, Tea! We have to deliver our support!" Yura whispered back then returned to the two boys, "You two should stay cute together!"

Yes, people are easily fooled; but support can come in the most unexpected and silliest ways. Tea sent an apologetic look toward Kaiba, who had his arms crossed and was glaring. Sorry, Kaiba; there was no stopping the cheerleaders.

* * *

 **TBC**


End file.
